LOUIS  W.  HILL 

PRESIDENT  GREAT  NORTHERN  RAILROAD  SYSTEMS 


Dry  Land  Farming 


By 

Thomas  Shaw 

f 

Late  Professor  of  Animal  Husbandry  at  the 
University  of  Minnesota 


Author  of 

The  Study  of  Breeds,  Animal  Breeding,  Feeding  Farm  Animals, 

The  Management  and  Feeding  of  Cattle,  Grasses  and 

How  to  Grow  Them,  Clovers  and  How  to 

Grow  Them,  Etc. 


ST.   PAUL,   MINN. 

THE  PIONEER  COMPANY 

1911 


!; 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
THE    AUTHOR 

All  Rights  Reserved 


LTO 

LOUIS  W.  HILL 

PRESIDENT  GREAT  NORTHERN  RAILROAD  SYSTEMS 

THIS  BOOK 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 

IN    RECOGNITION    OF    THE    GREAT    WORK  HE  IS   DOING  FOR  THE 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE    AGRICULTURAL   RESOURCES 

OF    THE    AMERICAN    NORTHWEST 


355431 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  author  desires  to  acknowledge  his  indebted- 
ness to  the  respective  authors  of  the  excellent  books, 
"Arid  Agriculture"  and  "Dry  Farming,"  which  were 
freely  consulted  in  its  preparation,  also  to  the  respective 
authors  of  various  bulletins  issued  by  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Stations  located  in  the  dry  land  area,  and  by 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


THE  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

What  may  be  termed  the  dry  land  area  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada  embraces  approximately  not 
fewer  than  five  hundred  million  acres,  all  of  which  may 
be  tilled,  and  nearly  all  of  which  is  unusually  rich  in 
the  elements  of  production.  Because  of  the  limited 
amount  of  rain  that  falls,  this  immense  area  can  never 
be  tilled  successfully  by  the  methods  of  farming  ordi- 
narily practised  in  humid  areas.  Within  a  comparatively 
recent  period,  however,  it  has  been  ascertained  that 
nearly  all  of  this  area  may  be  made  to  produce  good 
crops,  and  with  reasonable  certainty,  by  what  are  known 
as  dry  land  methods  of  tillage. 

The  existence  of  this  immense  agricultural  domain, 
as  yet  largely  unoccupied,  is  now  being  widely  pro- 
claimed. Settjers  are  rushing  into  it,  the  greater  por- 
tion of  whom  have  previously  lived  in  humid  or  sub- 
humid  climates.  They  are  much  prone  to  begin  the  till- 
age of  the  land  by  methods  that  are  adapted  to  humid 
conditions.  It  is  a  foregone  conclusion  that  such  meth- 
ods will  fail.  Dry  land  farming  can  only  succeed  through 
methods  that  are  adapted  to  dry  land  conditions. 

This  book  has  been  written  in  the  hope  that  it 
will  furnish  information  that  may  be  safely  followed  by 
the  dry  land  farmer  in  the  prosecution  of  his  work. 
When  writing  it,  special  consideration  was  given  to  the 
crops  that  may  be  successfully  grown  in  the  various 
sections  of  the  dry  land  area,  and  to  the  best  methods 
of  growing  them.  That  the  dry  land  farmer  may  find 
the  book  helpful  to  him  in  the  prosecution  of  his  work 
is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  author. 

THOMAS   SHAW. 

St.  Anthony  Park,  Minnesota,  1911. 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


CHAPTER  I '. 1 

WHAT  Is  MEANT  BY  DRY  LAND  FARMING. 

CHAPTER  II 24 

THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING. 

CHAPTER  III 43 

THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING. 

CHAPTER  IV 61 

SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  V ; 79 

SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING. 

CHAPTER  VI 103 

PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  VII 121 

PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  VIII 143 

CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  IX 173 

SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  X 191 

CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  XI 214 

GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  XII ; 269 

GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  XIII 310 

GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  XIV 340 

GROWING  HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS-. 

CHAPTER  XV 364 

GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  XVI 383 

ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  XVII 404 

MAINTAINING  FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS. 

CHAPTER  XVIII , 424 

LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS. 

CHAPTER  XIX 442 

THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 
WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING 

Page 

1.  WHAT  DRY  FARMING  DOES  NOT  MEAN 1 

(a)  Growing  crops  witliout  moisture. 

(b)  Growing  crops   in   all   areas  where    precipitation 
falls. 

(c)  Growing  crops  every  year  on  the  same  land. 

(d)  Growing  crops  to  the  exclusion  of  live  stock. 

(e)  Growing  all  crops  proper  to  the  latitude. 

2.  WHAT  DRY  FARMING  DOES  MEAN 3 

(a)  Growing  crops  under  semi-arid  conditions. 

(b)  Growing  crops  where  moisture  is  normally  defi- 
cient. 

(c)  Growing    crops    where    moisture    is    temporarily 
deficient. 

(d)  Growing  special  crops  by  special  methods. 

3.  GROWING  SPECIAL  CROPS 5 

(a)  Special  with  reference  to  class  and  variety. 

(b)  Special  with  reference  to  drought  resistance. 

(c)  Special  with  reference  to  ability  to  gather  food. 

(d)  Special  with  reference  to  early  maturity. 

(e)  Special  with  reference  to  methods  of  cultivation. 

4.  GROWING  CROPS  BY  SPECIAL  METHODS 8 

(a)  Special  methods  of  soil  preparation. 

(b)  Special  methods  of  planting. 

(c)  Special  methods  of  cultivating. 

(d)  Special  order  in  succession  in  the  crops. 

5.  How  CLIMATES  MAY  BE  CLASSIFIED 10 

(a)  Climates  that  are  arid. 

(b)  Climates  that  are  semi-arid. 

(c)  Climates  that  are  sub-humid. 

(d)  Climates  that  are  humid. 

6.  THE  INFLUENCES  THAT  AFFECT  ARIDITY 14 

(a)  The  amount  of  the  precipitation. 

(b)  The  character  of  the  precipitation. 

(c)  The  season  of  the  precipitation. 

(d)  The  influences  that  affect  moisture  evaporation. 

(e)  The  influences  that  affect  filtration  and  leaching. 

7.  THE  DOMINANT  IDEAS  IN  DRY  FARMING 17 

(a)  The  conservation  and  accumulation  of  moisture. 

(b)  Deep  plowing  and  subsoiling. 

(c)  Compressing  and  stirring  the  soil. 

(d)  Increasing  the  organic  matter  in  the  soil. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xi 

Pag 

CONTRASTED  WITH^FARMING  IN~HUMID_AREAS 19 

(a)  "It  is  confessedly  more  difficult. 

(b)  It  calls  for  more  exact  work. 

(c)  It  maintains  more  of  cleanliness  in  the  crops. 

(d)  It  is  in  a  sense  high-class  farming. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING 

1.  THE  ANTIQUITY  OF  DRY  FARMING 24 

(a)  Where  the  great  world  powers  originated. 

(b)  But  little  is  known  of  the  early  methods. 

(c)  What  was  done  in  some  of  the  early  centuries. 

(d)  Where  dry  farming  has  long  been  practised. 

2.  MISTAKEN  VIEWS  AS  TO  ITS  HISTORY 26 

(a)  With  reference  to  the  time  when  first  practised. 

(b)  With  reference  to  the  place  where  it  began. 

(c)  With  reference  to  the  area  where  practised. 

(d)  With  reference  to  its  early  promoters. 

3.  DRY  FARMING  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES s. 28 

(a)  In  the  state  of  Utah. 

(b)  In  the  state  of  California. 

(c)  In  the  Great  Basin  country. 

(d)  In  the  Great  Plains  area. 

(e)  In  the  Mountain  states. 

(f)  In  the  Columbia  river  basin. 

(g)  In  the  Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  basins. 

4.  DRY  FARMING  IN  EUROPE 31 

(a)  In  eastern  Europe. 

(b)  In  central  Europe. 

(c)  In  southern  Europe. 

5.  DRY  FARMING  IN  ASIA 32 

(a)  North  of  the  Himalayas. 

(b)  In  India  and  China. 

(c)  In  southwestern  Asia. 

6.  DRY  FARMING  IN  AFRICA 32 

(a)  In  the  Mediterranean  states. 

(b)  In  South  Africa. 

(c)  In  other  parts  of  Africa.      . 

7.  DRY  FARMING  IN  OTHER  PLACES 33 

(a)  In   Canada,   Mexico,   and   the_  Central   American 
states. 

(b)  In  various  countries  in  South  America. 

(c)  In  the  Island  Continent  of  Australia. 

8.  THE  PROMOTERS  OF  DRY  FARMING 35 

(a)  What  brought  it  into  prominence. 

(b)  Aid  from  other  sources. 

(c)  No  one  man  can  claim  to  be  its  originator. 


xii  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

Page 
9.  THE  FUTURE  OF  DRY  FARMING 40 

(a)  The  outstanding  material  interest. 

(b)  The  crude  methods  of  practise  must  vanish. 

(c)  The  evolution  will  come  increasingly. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING 

1.  THE  INFLUENCES  THAT  BEAR  UPON  DRY  FARMING 4H 

(a)  The  amount  of  the  precipitation. 

(b)  The  time  at  which  it  falls. 

(c)  The  character  of  the  evaporation. 

(d)  The  temperature  normally  present. 

(e)  The  characteristics  of  the' soil. 

2.  ARID  AND  SEMI-ARID  AMERICA 47 

(a)  Why  these  areas  are  not  easily  denned. 

(b)  The  dry  area  included  by  states. 

(c)  The  tillable  land  within  the  dry  area. 

3.  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  ARID  AND  SEMI-ARID  COUNTRY 49 

(a)   The  Great  Plains  area. 
.  (b)   The  Inter-mountain  region. 

(c)  The  Columbia  river  basin . 

(d)  The  Great  Inland  basin. 

(e)  The  Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  river  basins. 

4.  ANNUAL  PRECIPITATION  IN  THE  VARIOUS  STATES :  .  .  .      52 

(a)  Precipitation  in  North  Dakota. 

(b)  Precipitation  in  South  Dakota. 

(c)  Precipitation  in  Nebraska. 

(d)  Precipitation  in  Kansas. 

(e)  Precipitation  in  Oklahoma. 

(f)  Precipitation  in  Texas. 

(g)  Precipitation  in  New  Mexico, 
(h)  Precipitation  in  Colorado. 

(i)    Precipitation  in  Wyoming. 

(j)    Precipitation  in  Montana. 

(k)   Precipitation  in  Idaho. 

(1)     Precipitation  in  Utah. 

(m)  Precipitation  in  Nevada. 

(n)   Precipitation  in  Arizona. 

(o)    Precipitation  in  California. 

(p)   Precipitation  in  Oregon. 

(q)   Precipitation  in  Washington. 

(r)    Precipitation  in  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan. 

5.  THE  SEASONS  OF  THE  PRECIPITATION 57 

(a)  Where  it  falls  mainly  in  the  winter. 

(b)  Where  it  falls  mainly  in  the  spring. 

(c)  Where  it  falls  mainly  in  the  summer. 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS  xiii 

Page 
6.  OTHER  WEATHER  CONDITIONS  IN  DRY  AREAS 59 

(a)  The  manner  of  the  precipitation. 

(b)  The  character  of  the  temperature. 

(c)  The  character  of  the  winds. 


CHAPTER  IV 
SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  SOME  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  WESTERN  SOILS 61 

(a)  They  are  essentially  brown  in  color. 

(b)  They  are  unusually  rich  in  mineral  matters. 

(c)  They  are  relatively  low  in  humus. 

(d)  They  have  much  power  to  hold  moisture. 

(e)  The  characteristics  of  a  good  dry  soil. 

2.  SOME  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  SUB'SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 64 

(a)  In  many  instances  they  are  much  like  the  surface 
soils. 

(b)  They  iavor  the  correct  movement  of  moisture. 

(c)  Some  characteristics  that  are  undesirable. 

3.  CLAY  LOAM  SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 67 

(a)  What  is  meant  by  clay  loam  soils. 

(b)  The  prevalence  of  clay  loam  soils. 

(c)  The  superiority  of  clay  loam  soils. 

4.  SANDY  LOAM  SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 68 

(a)  What  is  meant  by  sandy  loam  soils. 

(b)  The  extent  to  which  these  prevail. 

(c)  The  relative  value  of  such  soils. 

5.  SILT  SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 69 

(a)   What  is  meant  by  silt  soils. 

(b\  The  extent  to  which  these  prevail. 

(c)    The  relative  value  of  silt  soils. 

6.  VOLCANIC  ASH  SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 71 

(a)  What  is  meant  by  volcanic  ash  soils. 

(b)  The  extent  to  which  these  prevail. 

(c)  The  relative  value  of  volcanic  ash  soils. 

7.  GUMBO  SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 72 

-(a)   What  is  meant  by  gumbo  soils. 

(b)  The  extent  to  which  these  prevail. 

(c)  The  relative  value  of  gumbo  soils. 

8.  ALKALI  SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 73 

(a)  What  is  meant  by  alkali  soils. 

(b)  The  extent  to  which  these  prevail. 

(c)  The  relative  value  of  alkali  soils. 

(d)  How  such  soils  may  be  made  productive. 

9.  PRODUCTION  As  AN  INDEX  OF  SOIL  QUALITIES 76 

(a)  Sage  brush  and  what  it  indicates. 

(b)  Greasewood  and  what  it  indicates. 

(c)  Sparse  vegetation  and  what  it  indicates. 

(d)  The  grasses  and  what  they  indicate. 


xiv  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  V 

SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING 

Page 

1.  How  WATER  OCCURS  ix  SEMI-ARID  SOILS 80 

(a)  As. free  water. 

(b)  As  capillary  water. 

(c)  As  hygroscopic  water. 

(d)  As  run-off  water. 

2.  THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  WATER  IN  SOILS 84 

(a)  To  dissolve  plant  food  in  the  soil.    • 

(b)  To  transport  food  solutions  to  the  plant. 
.  (c)    To  maintain  proper  growth  in  the  plant. 

3.  How  SOIL  MOISTURE  MAY  BE  LOST 85 

(a)  By  evaporation  at  the  surface. 

(b)  By  transpiration  through  plant  growth. 

(c)  By  leaching  out  of  the  subsoil. 

4.  Loss  OF  MOISTURE  BY  EVAPORATION 87 

(a)  How  moisture  is  lost  by  evaporation. 

(b)  The  extent  of  such  loss. 

(c)  How  such  loss  may  be  reduced. 

5.  Loss  OF  MOISTURE  BY  TRANSPIRATION 92 

(a)  How  moisture  is  lost  by  transpiration. 

(b)  The  extent  of  such  loss. 

(c)  How  such  loss  may  be  reduced. 

(d)  Transpiration  and  hot  winds. 

6.  OTHER  INFLUENCES  THAT  AFFECT  EVAPORATION 95 

(a)  Evaporation  as  affected  by  latitude. 

(b)  Evaporation  as  affected  by  altitude. 

(c)  Evaporation  as  affected  by  the  humus  supply. 

7.  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  SUBSOIL  MOISTURE 96 

(a)  The  function  of  moisture  in  the  subsoil. 

(b)  How  to  secure  moisture  in  the  subsoil. 

(c)  How  to  retain  moisture  in  the  subsoil. 

8.  THE  UTILIZATION  OF  SUBSOIL  MOISTURE 99 

(a)  The  extent  to  which  it  may  be  drawn  upon. 

(b)  Drawing  upon  it  to  no  good  purpose. 

(c)  When  a  reserve  of  moisture  is  specially  helpful. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PLANT  GROWTH  IN^DRY  AREAS 

1.  SOME  FEATURES  PECULIAR  TO  SUCH  GROWTH 103 

(a)  It  is  more  sparse  than  in  humid  areas. 

(b)  It  is  more  or  less  dwarfish. 

(c)  It  tends  to  an  abundant  fruitage. 

(d)  It  is  made  chiefly  in  the  early  season. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS  xv 

Page 

2.  THE  LEADING  FUNCTIONS  OF  WATER  IN  THE  SOIL 106 

(a)  To  improve  its  physical  condition. 

(b)  To  act  upon  it  chemically. 

(c)  To  regulate  the  temperature. 

(d)  To  carry  food  to  plants. 

3.  REDUCING  THE  Loss  OF  WATER  IN  DRY  AREAS 107 

(a)  By  storing  it  deeply  in  the  soil. 

(b)  By  surface  cultivation. 

(c)  By  keeping  down  weed  growth. 

(d)  By  shading  as  when  mulching. 

4.  THE  SEASONAL  USE  OF  MOISTURE 110 

(a)  Adaptation  in  plants  to  winter  rainfall. 

(b)  Adaptation  in  plants  to  spring  rainfall. 

(c)  Adaptation  in  plants  to  variable  rainfall. 

(d)  Adaptation  in  plants  to  the  season  of  dependable 
moisture. 

5.  ROOT  DEVELOPMENT  IN  DRY  AREAS 112 

(a)  The  functions  of  roots  in  plants. 

(b)  Why  active  root  growth  should  be  sought. 

(c)  Why  deep  root  growth  should  be  sought. 

(d)  Why  strong  root  growth  should  be  sought. 

6.  THE  SUPERIOR  QUALITY  OF  DRY  FARM  CROPS 114 

(a)  They  are  richer  in  dry  matter  than  other  crops. 

(b)  They  are  possessed  of  essentially  more  nutrition. 

(c)  The  proportion  of  the  grain  to  the  straw  is  high. 

(d)  They  are  usually  higher  in  palatability. 

7.  WEED  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS 115 

(a)  How  weeds  are  introduced. 

(b)  How  weeds  are  distributed. 

(c)  Why  the  seeds  live  long  in  the  soil. 

(d)  Why  farms  should  be  clean  in  dry  areas. 

8.  THE  TENDENCY  IN  GRAIN  PLANTS  TO  VOLUNTEER 117 

(a)   The  seasons  for  such  volunteering. 
•     (b)  The  evils  that  flow  from  volunteering. 

(c)  How  volunteering  may  be  lessened. 

(d)  How  volunteering  may  be  remedied. 


CHAPTER  VII 
PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  THE  OBJECT  SOUGHT  IN  PLOWING 121 

(a)  To  break  up  the  land  to  admit  moisture  and  air. 

(b)  To  make  a  seed  bed  for  the  crop. 

(c)  To  aid  in  cleaning  the  land. 

2.  THE  TIME  FOR  PLOWING 125 

(a)  Plowing  in  the  spring. 

(b)  Plowing  in  the  summer. 

(c)  Plowing  in  the  autumn. 


xvi  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 

Page 

3.  THE  DEPTH  TO  PLOW 128 

(a)  When  plowing  should  be  deep. 

(b)  When  plowing  should  be  shallow. 

(c)  When  to  vary  the  depth  in  plowing. 

4.  THE  KIND  OF  PLOW  TO  USE 131 

(a)  The  mold-board  plow  and  its  place. 

(b)  The  disc  plow  and  its  place. 

(c)  The  deep  tilling  machine  and  its  place. 

5.  POWER  TO  USE  IN  PLOWING 134 

(a)  The  place  for  farm  animals  in  plowing. 

(b)  The  place  for  steam  power  in  plowing. 

(c)  The  place  for  gasoline  power  in  plowing. 

6.  GOOD  PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS 136 

(a)  The  importance  of  good  plowing. 

(b)  The  essentials  of  good  plowing. 

(c)  The  care  of  the  plow. 

7.  SUBSOIL  PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS 137 

(a)  What  is  meant  by  subsoil  plowing. 

(b)  The  benefits  from  subsoil  plowing. 

(c)  When  subsoiling  should  be  practised. 

8.  THE  FREQUENCY  OF  THE  PLOWING 139 

(a)  When  farming  land  just  broken. 

(b)  When  plowing  summer-fallow. 

(c)  When  to  disc  rather  than  plow. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  THE  SUBSOIL  PACKER  AND  ITS  USE 143 

(a)  The  subsoil  packer  described. 

(b)  When  and  how  it  should  be  used. 

(c)  When  and  where  it  should  not  be  used. 

2.  THE  Disc  AND  ITS  USE 145 

(a)  The  disc  described. 

(b)  When  and  how  it  should  be  used. 

(c)  When  and  where  it  should  not  be  used. 

3.  CULTIVATORS  OTHER  THAN  THE  Disc 149 

(a)  Cultivators  suitable  for  dry  areas  described. 

(b)  When  and  how  they  should  be  used. 

(c)  When  and  where  they  should  not  be  used. 

4.  HARROWS  AND  THEIR  USES 154 

(a)  Harrows  suitable  far  dry  areas  described. 

(b)  When  and  how  they  should  be  used. 

(c)  When  and  where  they  should  not  be  used. 

5.  ROLLERS  AND  THEIR  USES 158 

(a)  Rollers  suitable  for  dry  areas  described. 

(b)  When  and  how  they  should  be  used. 

(c)  When  and  where  they  should  not  be  used. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xvii 

Page 
(>.   PLAXKERS  AND  THEIR  USE 160 

(a)  Plankers  suitable  for  dry  areas  described. 

(b)  When  and  how  they  should  be  used. 

(c)  When  and  where  they  should  not  be  used. 

7.  SEED  DRILLS  AND  THEIR  USES 163 

(a)  Seed  drills  suitable  for  dry  areas  described. 

(b)  When  and  how  they  should  be  used. 

(c)  Wrhen  and  where  they  should  not  be  used. 

8.  MAINTAINING  THE  DUST  MULCH  IN  DRY  AREAS 165 

(a)  What  is  meant  by  the  dust  mulch. 

(b)  The  place  for  the  dust  mulch. 

(c)  How  to  maintain  the  dust  mulch. 

9.  THE  SUMMER-FALLOW  IN  DRY  AREAS 168 

(a)  What  is  meant  by  the  summer-fallow. 

(b)  The  place  for  the  summer-fallow. 

(c)  How  to  manage  the  summer-fallow. 

10.  CULTIVATING  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS 170 

(a)  The  crops  that  may  be  cultivated. 

(b)  The  character  of  the  cultivation. 

(c)  The  extent  of  the  cultivation. 


CHAPTER  IX 
SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1 .  THE  ADVANTAGE  FROM  DRILL  SOWING 173 

(a)  The  seed  is  buried  to  a  uniform  depth. 

(b)  The  depth  may  be  varied  to  suit  the  conditions. 

(c)  The  ground  may  be  compressed  above  the  seed. 

(d)  There  is  a  saving  in  the  seed. 

2.  THE  DISADVANTAGES  OF  BROADCASTING 175 

(a)  The  seed  cannot  all  be  placed  in  moist  ground. 

(b)  The  seed  is  buried  too  unevenly  for  even  germi- 
nation. 

(c)  The  hazard  from  harrowing  the  grain  is  increased. 

(d)  The  place  for  broadcasting  in  dry  areas  is  limited. 

3.  AMOUNT  OF  SEED  TO  Sow 177 

(a)  Why  light  seeding  is  to  be  preferred. 

(b)  About  half  the  amounts  used  in  humid  areas  will 
suffice . 

(c)  Allowance  for  losses  in  harrowing. 

4.  THE  TIME  TO  Sow  AUTUMN  GRAIN 179 

(a)  Why  early  sowing  is  to  be  preferred. 

(b)  Why  late  sowing  should  be  avoided. 

(c)  The  conditions  suitable  for  sowing. 

5.  THE  TIME  TO  Sow  SPRING  GRAIN 181 

(a)  Why  it  should  be  sown  early. 

(b)  Why  it  should  not  be  sown  late. 

(c)  The  conditions  suitable  for  sowing. 


xviii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

6.  THE  DEPTH  TO  Sow 184 

(a)  The  influence  of  the  soil. 

(b)  The  influence  of  the  moisture. 

(c)  The  influence  of  the  seed. 

(d)  The  influence  of  the  season. 

7.  THE  NURSE  CROP  AND  SOWING 186 

(a)  But  little  place  for  it  in  dry  areas. 

(b)  When  it  may  be  used. 

(c)  When  it  may  not  be  used. 

8.  THE  TIME  FOR  PLANTING 187 

(a)  The  influence  of  the  crop. 

(b)  The  influence  of  the  soil. 

(c)  The  influence  of  the  season. 

(d)  Why  planting  may  be  done  relatively  early. 

9.  THE  METHODS  OF  PLANTING 189 

(a)  Planting  in  hills. 

(b)  Planting  in  drills. 

(c)  Planting  on  the  broadcast  plan. 


CHAPTER  X 
CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  CROPS  THAT  SHOULD  BE  GROWN 191 

(a)  Those  that  will  grow  best  under  a  light  precipi- 
tation. 

(b)  Those  that  will  best  endure  dry  atmospheric  con- 
ditions. 

(c)  Those  that  mature  early  rather  than  late. 

2.  SMALL  CEREAL  CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROW^N 193 

(a)  The  place  for  wheat  in  dry  areas. 

(b)  The  place  for  flax  in  dry  areas. 

(c)  The  place  for  rye  in  dry  areas. 

(d)  The  place  for  barley  in  dry  areas. 

(e)  The  place  for  oats  in  dry  areas. 

(f)  The  place  for  speltz  in  dry  areas. 

(g)  The  place  for  peas  in  dry 'areas. 

3.  FODDER  CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN 199 

(a)  The  place  for  corn  in  dry  areas. 

(b)  The  place  for  sorghum  in  dry  areas. 

(c)  The  place  for  non-saccharine  sorghums. 

(d)  The  place  for  millets  and  mixed  grains. 

4.  HAY  CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN 202 

(a)   The  place  for  hay  crops  in  dry  areas, 
(b.)   Hay  plants  that  will  not  grow  well, 
(c)    Hay  plants  that  will  succeed  best. 
(d)   Hay  from  certain  of  the  cereals. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xix 

Page 

5.  ROOTS  AND  TUBERS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN 205 

(a)  The  place  for  field  roots  in  dry  areas. 

(b)  The  place  for  tubers  in  dry  areas. 

(c)  The  hazard  to  be  avoided  in  growing  them. 

6.  FRUITS  AND  VEGETABLES  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN 208 

(a)  The  place  for  small  fruits  in  dry  areas. 

(b)  The  place  for  large  fruits  in  dry  areas. 

(c)  The  place  for  vegetables  in  dry  areas. 

(d)  The  place  for  fruits  yet  to  be  introduced. 

7.  TREES  AND  WINDBREAKS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN 210 

(a)  Trees  for  shelter  in  dry  areas. 

(b)  Trees  for  timber  in  dry  areas. 

(c)  Trees  for  fence  posts  in  dry  areas. 

8.  CULTIVATED  CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN 211 

(a)  Cereals  that  may  be  cultivated. 

(b)  Fodder  crops  that  may  be  cultivated. 

(c)  Legumes  that  may  be  cultivated. 

(d)  Other  crops  that  may  be  cultivated. 


CHAPTER  XI 
GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  GROWING  WHEAT,  WINTER  AND  SPRING .    214 

(a)  The  soils  for  wheat. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

2.  GROWING  RYE,  WINTER  AND  SPRING 236 

(a)  The  soils  for  rye. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

(g)  For  green  manure. 

3.  GROWING  FLAX 244 

(a)  The  soils  for  flax. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

4.  GROWING  BARLEY 250 

(a)  The  soils  for  barley. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 


xx  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 
GROWING  BARLEY — Continued. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

5.  GROWING  OATS 254 

'  (a)   The  soils  for  oats. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

6.  GROWING  SPELTZ 260 

(a)  The  soils  for  speltz. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

7.  GROWING  PEAS 266 

(a)  The  soils  for  peas. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

(g)  For  green  manure. 


CHAPTER  XII 
GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1 .  GROWING  CORN 269 

(a)  The  soils  for  corn. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Planting  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

2.  GROWING  THE  SORGHUMS 285 

(a)  The  soils  for  sorghum. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Planting  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

3.  GROWING  POTATOES 291 

(a)  The  soils  for  potatoes. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xxi 

Page 
GROWING  POTATOES-—  Continued 

(d)  Planting  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

296 


5. 
6. 

(a) 
(b) 

(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(f) 
GROWIN 
(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(0 
GROWIN 
(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(f) 

The  soils  for  beans. 
Place  in  the  rotation. 
Preparing  the  soil. 
Planting  the  seed. 
Care  of  the  crop. 
Harvesting  the  crop. 
G  FIELD  ROOTS                                         

The  soils  for  field  roots. 
Place  in  the  rotation. 
Preparing  the  soil. 
Sowing  the  seed. 
Care  of  the  crop. 
Harvesting  the  crop. 
G  ARTICHOKES.  .  .                        

The  soils  for  artichokes. 
Place  in  the  rotation. 
Preparing  the  soil. 
Planting  the  seed. 
Care  of  the  crop. 
Harvesting  the  crop. 

299 


307 


CHAPTER  XIII 
GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  GROWING  ALFALFA 310 

(a)  The  soils  for  alfalfa. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  for  hay. 

(g)  Harvesting  for  seed, 
(h)  Duration,  of  the  crop, 
(i)  Plowing  alfalfa  sod. 
(j)  Miscellaneous  facts. 

2.  GROWING  THE  COMMON  CLOVERS 322 

(a)  The  soils  for  clovers. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation- 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  for  hay. 

(g)  Harvesting  for  seed, 
(h)  Duration  of  clovers. 


xxii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

3.  GROWING  SAINFOIN 327 

(a)  Soils  for  sainfoin. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  for  hay. 

(g)  Harvesting  for  seed. 

4.  GROWING  VETCHES 330 

(a)  Soils  for  vetches. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  for  hay. 

(g)  Harvesting  for  seed. 

5.  GROWING  Cow  PEAS 333 

(a)  Soils  for  cow  peas. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  for  hay. 

(g)  Harvesting  for  seed. 

6.  GROWING"  SWEET  CLOVER 335 

(a)  Soils  for  sweet  clover. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  for  hay.  . 

(g)  Harvesting  for  seed, 
(h)  As  a  green  manure. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
GROWING  HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  GROWING  TIMOTHY 340 

(a)  The  soils  for  timothy. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

(g)  Combinations  for  timothy. 

2.  GROWING  WESTERN  RYE  GRASS 343 

(a)  The  soils  for  western  rye  grass. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xxiii 

Page 

GROWING  WESTERN  RYE  GRASS  —  Continued 
(d)~  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

(g)  Combinations  for  western  rye  grass. 

3.  GROWING  BROME  GRASS  ..............................    346 

(a)  The  soils  for  brome  grass! 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

(g)  Combinations  for  brome  grass. 

4.  HAY  FROM  GRAINS  ..........................  .....    349 

(a)  Grains  grown  alone  for  hay. 

(b)  Grains  grown  in  combination  >for  hay. 

(c)  The  soils  for  such  grain. 

(d)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(e)  Preparing  the  soil. 


(f)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(g)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(h)   Harvesting  the  crop. 


5.  HAY  FROM  MILLETS  .........................  ...    353 

(a)  The  soils  for  millet. 

(b)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(c)  Preparing  the  soil.  » 

(d)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(e)  Care  of  the  crop. 

(f)  Harvesting  the  crop. 

(g)  Combinations  for  millet. 

6.  PASTURE  CROPS  FROM  GRASS  ......  ..........    355 

(a)  Pasture  crops  grown  singly. 

(b)  Pasture  crops  grown  in  combination. 

(c)  The  soils  for  pasture  crops. 

(d)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(e)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(f)  Sowing  the  seed. 

(g)  Grazing  the  pastures. 

7.  PASTURE  CROPS  FROM  GRAIN  .............  '...-.  ..........   359 

(a)  Pasture  from  grains  grown^alone. 

(b)  Pasture  from  grains  grown^in  combination. 

(c)  The  soils  for  grain  pastures. 

(d)  Place  in  the  rotation. 

(e)  Preparing  the  soil. 

(f)  Sowing  the  seed.  • 

(g)  Grazing  thejmstures. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XV 

GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

Page 

1.  CAN  TREES  AND  FRUITS  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS 364 

(a)  The  great  significance  of  the  answer. 

(b)  The  results  obtained  will  differ  greatly. 

(c)  The  aid  of  water  is  sometimes  necessary. 

2.  WHAT  SHOULD  BE  SOUGHT  IN  GROWING  TREES 367 

(a)  Primarily  to  furnish  protection  for  the  home. 

(b)  To  furnish  protection  to  the  fruits  grown. 

(c)  To  furnish  posts  for  fencing. 

3.  WHAT  SHOULD  BE  SOUGHT  IN  GROWING  FRUITS 367 

(a)  To  grow  those  such  as  give  promise  of  success. 

(b)  To  grow  them  mainly  for  the  home. 

(c)  To  grow  them  as  soon  as  may  be  practicable. 

4.  TREES  SUITABLE  FOR  DRY  AREAS.  .  .  ." 368 

(a)  Those  suitable  for  windbreaks. 

(b)  Those  suitable  for  groves. 

(c)  Those  suitable  for  fence  posts. 

(d)  Those  suitable  for  hedges. 

5.  FRUITS  SUITABLE  FOR  DRY  AREAS 370 

(a)  Small  fruits  that  may  be  grown. 

(b)  Medium  fruits  that  may  be  grown. 

(c)  Large  fruits  that  may  be  grown. 

6.  MAKING  READY  TO  PLANT  TREES  AND" FRUITS 372 

(a)  General  outline  of  the  plan. 

(b)  Preparing  the  ground. 

(c)  The  season  for  planting. 

(d)  Where  to  secure  the  stock. 

7.  PLANTING  AND  CARING  FOR  TREES 376 

(a)  Planting  trees  for  windbreaks. 

(b)  Planting  trees  for  groves. 

(c)  Planting  trees  for  fence  posts. 

(d)  Care  of  the  trees  after  planting. 

8.  PLANTING  AND  CARING  FOR  FRUITS 379 

(a)  Planting  large  fruits. 

(b)  Planting  medium  fruits. 

(c)  Planting  small  fruits. 

(d)  The  care  of  fruits  after  planting. 

(e)  Growing  vegetables  in  fruit  orchards. 

(f)  Applying  water  to  orchards. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS 

1.  POSITIVE  REASONS  FOR  ROTATION  IN  HUMID  AREAS 383 

(a)  To  maintain  an  equilibrium  in  plant  food. 

(b)  To  maintain   an   equilibrium    in   mechanical   soil 
conditions. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xxv 

/ 

Page 
POSITIVE  REASONS  FOR  ROTATION  IN  HUMID  AREAS — Continued. 

(c)  To  maintain  an  equilibrium  in  the  humus  supply. 

(d)  To   matniain    an    equilibrium    in    the   labor   con- 
ditions. 

2.  NEGATIVE  REASONS  FOR  ROTATION  IN  HUMID  AREAS 385 

(a)  To  prevent  the  undue  accumulation  of  weeds. 

(b)  To  prevent  the  undue  increase  of  insects. 

(c)  To  prevent  undue  increase  in  fungous  diseases. 

(d)  To  prevent   the   shifting  of   soils  by  water  and 
winds. 

3.  INCIDENTAL  BENEFITS  FROM  ROTATION 388 

(a)  Reducing  the  hazard  from  crop  failure. 

(b)  The  more  complete  maintenance  which  it  brings. 

(c)  The  wider  diversity  in  live  stock  production  which 
it  gives. 

(d)  The  salutary  influence  which  it  exerts  on  markets. 

4.  ADDITIONAL  REASONS  FOR  ROTATIONS  IN  DRY  AREAS.  .  .  .    390 

(a)  To  prevent  the  loss  of  moisture  that   does  not 
enter  the  soil. 

(b)  To  prevent  the  loss  of  moisture  in  the  soil. 

(c)  To  increase  the  moisture  content  in  the  soil. 

(d)  To  make  farming  possible  and  profitable. 

5.  ROTATION  BY  ALTERNATING  FALLOW  AND  GRAIN 392 

(a)  How  such  rotation  is  conducted. 

(b)  The  benefits  from  such  rotation. 

(c)  The  area  for  such  rotation. 

(d)  The  objections  to  such  rotation. 

6.  ROTATIONS    BY    ALTERNATING    CULTIVATED    CROPS    AND 
GRAINS 395 

(a)  How  such  rotation  is  conducted. 

(b)  The  benefits  from  such  rotation. 

(c)  The  area  for  such  rotation. 

(d)  The  objections  to  such  rotation. 

7.  ROTATION   WHICH   COMBINES   FALLOW    AND   CULTIVATED 
CROPS • 397 

(a)  How  such  rotation  is  conducted. 

(b)  The  benefits  from  such  rotation. 

(c)  The  area  for  such  rotation. 

(d)  The  objections  to  such  rotation. 

8-  ROTATIONS  WHICH  INCLUDE  GRASS  CROPS 399 

(a)  How  such  rotation  is  conducted. 

(b)  The  benefits  from  such  rotation. 

(c)  The  area  for  such  rotation. 

(d)  The  objections  to  such  rotation. 

9.  ROTATION  THAT  SHOULD  NOT  BE  FOLLOWED 401 

(a)  Growing  small  grains  in  a  long  succession. 

(b)  Growing  pastures  for  many  successive  years. 

(c)  Growing  alfalfa  for  many  successive  years. 

(d)  Growing  small  grains  except  on  cultivated  land. 


xxvi  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XVII 
MAINTAINING  FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

Page 

1.  SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  ARE  USUALLY  FERTILE 405 

(a)  Because  of  inherent  richness  in  the  soil  particles. 

(b)  Because  the  subsoil  is  very  similar  in  composition. 

(c)  Because  little  has  been  lost  by  leaching. 

(d)  Because  of  the  moving  of  the  soil  by  rodents. 

2.  THE  Loss  OF  FERTILITY  IN  DRY  AREAS. 406 

(a)  Many  claim  that  it  will  never  be  lost. 

(b)  Every  crop  grown  and  sold  removes  fertility. 

(c)  The  loss  is  less  rapid  than  in  humid  climates. 

(d)  The  restoration  when  lost  is  more  difficult. 

3.  THE  SOURCES  OF  FERTILITY  IN  DRY  AREAS 408 

(a)  Food  furnished  directly  by  the  soil. 

(b)  Food  carried  up  from  the  subsoil. 

(c)  Food  liberated  by  cultivation. 

(d)  Food  furnished  by  legumes. 

4.  How  TO  INCREASE  FERTILITY  IN  DRY  AREAS 410 

(a)  By  growing  legumes. 

(b)  By  applying  farm  manures. 

(c)  By  applying  artificial  fertilizers. 

(d)  How  to  increase  the  available  fertility. 

5.  THE  SUPPLY  OF  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS.  . 413 

(a)  It  is  less  than  in  humid  areas . 

(b)  Why  it  is  less  than  in  humid  areas. 

(c)  More  difficult  to  increase  it  than  in  humid  areas. 

(d)  It  is  lost  less  readily  than  in  humid  areas. 

6.  THE  SOURCES  OF  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS 415 

(a)  Organic  matter  that  decays  on  the  surface. 

(b)  The  roots  and  stubbles  of  plants. 

(c)  Green  crops  grown  and  buried. 

(d)  Farmyard  manures. 

7.  THE  BENEFITS  FROM  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS 417 

(a)  It  improves  the  physical  structure  of  soils. 

(b)  It  adds  to  their  moisture-holding  power. 

(c)  It  furnishes  food  to  plants  in  a  readily  available 
form. 

(d)  It  lessens  the  lifting  of  soil  by  winds. 

8.  How  TO  INCREASE  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS 420 

.(a)   By  growing  and  burying  non-leguminous  plants. 

(b)  By  growing  alfalfa. 

(c)  By  growing  and  burying  the  Canadian  field  pea. 

(d)  By  growing  and  burying  the  sand  vetch. 

(e)  By'growing  and  burying  sweet  clover. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  xxvii 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

LIVE  STOCK  ON  THE  DRY  FARM 

Page 

1.  WHY  STOCK  SHOULD  BE  KEPT  ON  THE  DRY  FARM 425 

(a)  To  prevent  waste  on  the  farm . 

(b)  To  prevent  waste  on  the  range. 

(c)  To  encourage  diversity  in  production. 

(d)  To  maintain  fertility  in  the  land. 

(e)  To  increase  the  revenues  from  the  farm . 

2.  THE  KIND  OF  LIVE  STOCK  TO  GROW 427 

(a)  Deciding  this  question  is  difficult. 

(b)  Some  of  the  determining  influences. 

(c)  The  kinds  of  stock  that  must  be  grown. 

(d)  The  kinds  of  stock  that  may  be  grown . 

3.  STOCKING  THE  DRY  FARM 428 

(a)  Why  the  introduction  should  be  gradual. 

(b)  The  stock  that  a  dry  farm  will  carry. 

(c)  The  wisdom  of  not  overstocking. 

4.  HORSES  ON  THE  DRY  FARM 430 

(a)  The  utilization  of  brood  mares. 

(b)  The  early  wintering  of  horses. 

(c)  The  large  return  for  the  numbers  kept. 

(d)  Foods  that  may  be  fed  to  horses. 

5.  DAIRY  CATTLE  ON  THE  DRY  FARM 431 

(a)  The  foods  to  feed  in  summer. 

(b)  The  foods  to  feed  in  winter. 

(c)  When  the  cows  should  be  dry. 

(d)  Disposing  of  the  product. 

6.  BEEF  CATTLE  ON  THE  DRY  FARM 432 

(a)  They  will  be  grown  by  two  methods. 

(b)  How  grown  when  the  calves  are  hand  fed. 

(c)  How  grown  when  suckled  by  the  dams. 

(d)  Disposal  of  the  product. 

7.  SHEEP  ON  THE  DRY  FARM 434 

(a)  When  grown  on  the  farm. 

(b)  When  simply  fattened  on  the  farm. 

(c)  Disposal  of  the  product. 

8.  SWINE  ON  THE  DRY  FARM 436 

(a)  In  conjunction  with  dairying. 

(b)  Where  dairying  is  not  practised. 

(c)  Disposing  of  the  product. 

9.  POULTRY  ON  THE  DRY  FARM *. 437 

(a)  The  excellence  of  the  conditions  for  growing  it. 

(b)  The  foods  for  poultry. 

(c)  Disposing  of  the  product. 

10.  INFLUENCES  THAT  BEAR  UPON  THE  AREA  OF  THE  DRY 

FARM 438 

(a)  The  amount  of  the  precipitation. 

(b)  The  capacity  of  the  individual. 

(c)  The  style  of  the  farming  followed. 


xxviii  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS 

Page 

1.  THE  SCARCITY  OF  WATER 442 

(a)  This  fact  should  be  carefully  considered. 

(b)  Various  results  from  the  determinations. 

(c)  The  two  principal  sources  of  water. 

(d)  The  abundance  of  ground  water. 

(e)  The  available  character  of  ground  water. 

(f)  The  necessity  for  determinations. 

2.  WHY  WATER  Is  SCARCE 444 

(a)  Because  of  the  low  precipitation. 

(b)  Because  of  the  character  of  the  precipitation. 

(c)  Because  of  the  hardness  of  the  unbroken  soil. 

(d)  Because  of  the  chinook  winds. 

(e)  Because  of  the  rapid  evaporation. 

3.  THE  SOURCES  or  WATER  IN  DETAIL 446 

(a)  Water  caught  from  roofs  and  in  draws. 

(b)  Water  which  comes  from  springs  and  streams. 

(c)  Water  which  comes  from  irrigating  ditches. 

(d)  Water  which  comes  from  wells. 

(e)  Water  which  comes  from  artesian  sources. 

4.  How  WATER  THAT  FALLS  MAY  BE  SAVED 449 

(a)  By  constructing  cement  lined  cisterns. 

(b)  By  erecting  dams  of  proper  construction. 

(c)  By  piping  from  distant  springs. 

5.  How  WATER  MAY  BE  RAISED 450 

(a)  By  wind  power. 

(b)  By  gasoline  power. 

(c)  By  steam  power. 

(d)  By  electrical  power. 

6.  RESERVE  WATER  AND  HOME  BUILDING 452 

(a)  Essential  to  operations  in  the  home. 

(b)  Essential  sometimes  in  the  garden. 

(c)  Essential  sometimes  in  the  orchard. 

(d)  Essential  sometimes  in  growing  shelter  belts. 

(e)  Essential  sometimes  to  the  keeping  of  live  stock. 

7.  APPLYING  RESERVE  WATER  TO  THE  SOIL 455 

(a)  The  ordinary  limit  of  such  application. 

(b)  The  small  amount  that  is  called  for. 

(c)  Citation  of  instances  of  application. 

8.  DRY  FARMING  WITH  VERY  LIGHT  RAINFALL '.  .    456 

(a)  Crops  grown  at  Indian  Head,  Sask.,  in  1894. 

(b)  Crops  grown  in  Utah  in  1910. 

(c)  Crops  grown  in  Montana  in  1910. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

.Dry  Land  Grain  in  Washington 6 

Ranch  Home  in  Yellowstone  County,  Montana 29 

First  Prize  Land  Exhibit  from  Oregon 51 

The  Spalding  Deep  Tilling  Machine 132 

Breaking  with  Steam  Power  in  North  Dakota 135 

Three-Section  Dunham  Packer  and  Pulverizer 145 

The  Minnesota  Chief  Spring  Tooth  Harrow -.  .  .    149 

The  Deere  Clod  Crusher,  Leveller  and  Smoother 151 

Planet  Jr.  Combined  Drill  Seeder,  Wheel  Hoe,  Cultivator  and 

Plow 153 

The  Janesville  Hallock  12-foot  Riding  Weeder 155 

One  Section  of  the  Ajax  Steel  Lever  Harrow 157 

The  Dandy  Dunham  Steel  Land  Roller 160 

The  Home  Made  Flanker 162 

The  Single  Disc  Drill 164 

The  Double  Disc  Drill - 165 

The  Sixty-Penny  Spike  Tooth  Wooden  Home  Made  Harrow.  .    168 

The  Disc  Press  Drill 177 

Dry  Land  Wheat  near  Kalispell,  Montana 195 

The  Deere  14-Tooth  Steel  Lever  Cultivator. 200 

Dry  Land  Durum  Wheat,  near  Great  Falls,  Montana 215 

Dry  Land  Kubanka  Wheat,  Fergus  County,  Montana 222 

Dry  Land  Durum  Wheat,  Cascade  County,  Montana 226 

Dry  Land  Wheat,  Lewis  and  Clark  County,  Montana 230 

Dry  Land  Headed  Wheat,  Opal  Prairie,  Oregon 232 

Harvesting  Dry  Land  Wheat,  Rosebud  County,  Montana.  .  .  .    235 

Dry  Land  Rye,  Lewis  and  Clark  County,  Montana 240 

Dry  Land  Rye,  Rosebud  County,  Montana 242 

Dry  Land  White  Hulle'ss  Barley,  Dawson  County,  Montana. .  .   253 
Dry  Land  Canadian  White  Oats,  Fergus  County,  Montana. .  .  .   255 

Dry  Land  Sixty-Day  Oats,  Choteau  County,  Montana 257 

Dry  Land  Oats,  Flathead  Valley,  Montana 259 

Dry  Land  Fodder  Corn  near  Broadview,  Montana 272 

The  Surface  Cultivator 278 

Dry  Land  Fodder  Corn  Grown  near  Sherwood,  North  Dakota-  281 
Dry  Land  Corn,  Rosebud  County,  Montana / 283 


xxx  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Dry  Land  Sweet  Sorghum,  Rosebud  County,  Montana 288 

Dry  Land  Potatoes,  Choteau  County,  Montana 294 

Dry  Land  Potatoes  near  Kalispell,  Montana 295 

Dry  Land  Mangels,  Flathead  County,  Montana 300 

Dry  Land  Carrots,  Flathead  County,  Montana 303 

Dry  Land  Turnips,  Flathead  County,  Montana 306 

The  Alfalfa  Renovator 311 

Dry  Land  Alfalfa,  Yellowstone  County,  Montana 313 

The  Deere  Alfalfa  Cultivator 317 

Dry  Land  Alfalfa  2  years  old,  Harney  County,  Oregon 320 

Dry  Land  Clover  and  Timothy  near  Redmond,  Oregon 325 

Dry  Land  Western  Rye  Grass,  Western  Montana 344 

Dry  Land  Young  Apple  Orchard  in  Flathead  County,  Montana"*  365 

Dry  Land  Apple  Orchard  near  Kalispell,  Montana 373 

Dry  Land  Six-year  Wagner  Apple  Trees,  Bonner's  Ferry,  Ida.  377 

Dry  Land  Squash,  Yellowstone  County,  Montana 381 

Sheep  on  Range  Pastures,  Yamhill  County,  Oregon 435 

Swine  Grown  on  Dry  Land  Farm  near  Hobson,  Montana 437 

Dry  Land  Montana  Farm  Garden 453 


CHAPTER  I 
WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING 

The  term  "Dry  Farming"  is  now  applied  to  the  grow- 
ing of  crops  in  all  areas  where  the  precipitation  is  so  light 
that  special  methods  of  tillage  have  to  be  resorted  to  in 
order  to  grow  crops  with  a  reasonable  measure  of  success. 
In  a  sense  it  is  a  misnomer.  To  those  who  may  not 
understand  the  way  in  which  it  is  used,  the  hazard  is 
present  that  it  will  convey  the  impression  that  it  refers 
to  farming  that  is  conducted  in  the  absence  of  moisture. 
Many  have  objected  to  the  term  for  the  reason  given 
above,  and  for  the  further  reason  that  its  use  tends  to 
prejudice  those  who  are  seeking  homes  with  reference 
to  land  that  must  avowedly  be  farmed  on  the  dry  farm- 
ing plan  whatever  that  may  mean. 

The  effort  has  been  made  to  change  the  name,  but 
without  success,  and  it  has  failed  for  the  following  rea- 
sons:  (1)  The  term  is  in  itself  essentially  correct,  as  it 
refers  to  farming  under  dry  conditions.  Every  one 
knows,  or  ought  to  know,  that  farming  cannot  be  con- 
ducted in  the  absence  of  moisture.  (2)  It  carries  with  it 
the  idea  that  the  precipitation  is  less  than  that  which  or- 
dinarily falls  in  humid  and  sub-humid  climates,  a  truth 
that  one  seeking  a  home  in  such  areas  ought  to  know  be- 
fore he  makes  his  choice,  otherwise  he  is  going  to  be  dis- 
appointed and  possibly  to  the  extent  of  being  discour- 
aged. (3)  It  would  seem  to  be  almost  impossible  to 
substitute  a  name  that  will  so  well  characterize  the  class 
of  the  farming  that  is  to  be  pursued  in  these  areas. 

What  dry  farming  does  not  mean. — Of  course  dry 
fanning  does  not  mean  the  growing  of  crops  without 
moisture.  That  would  be  an  absurdity.  But  it  does 
mean  growing  them  with  a  less  amount  of  moisture  than 
would  be  successful  in  producing  them  without  resorting 


;        DRY-L'YXD   FARMING 

to  special  methods  of  cultivation.  It  rather  means  grow- 
ing them  under  varying  degrees  of  precipitation,  running 
all  the  way  from  a  little  below  what  is  normal  to  the 
lowest  quantity  that  will  result  in  production  by  any 
method  of  tillage  that  may  be  adopted. 

It  does  not  mean  the  growing  of  crops  in  all  areas 
where  precipitation  falls.  In  some  of  these  the  precipi- 
tation is  so  light  that  even  tilled  crops  cannot  be  success- 
fully grown.  The  degree  of  the  precipitation  essential 
to  the  growing  of  paying  crops  in  dry  areas  is  a  greatly 
varying  factor,  since  it  is  influenced  by  the  character  of 
the  soil  and  the  nature  of  the  evaporation! 

It  does  not  mean  the  growing  of  tilled  crops  every 
year  on  the  same  land.  This,  though  quite  feasible  in 
humid  climates,  is  not  entirely  so  in  dry  areas.  In  these, 
under  some  conditions,  it  is  possible  to  grow  only  one 
crop  in  two  years.  Under  other  conditions  the  number 
of  the  crops  grown  in  succession  is  increased.  It  does 
not  occur  very  often,  however,  that  crops  can  be  obtained 
every  year.  In  nearly  all  instances  it  is  necessary  occa- 
sionally to  devote  one  season  to  the  storing  up  of  soil 
moisture  in  the  soil  and  subsoil,  as  a  reserve  for  the 
needs  of  the  crops  that  follow. 

It  does  not  mean  the  growing  of  crops  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  live  stock.  It  would  not  be  quite  correct  to  say 
that  the  grazing  of  live  stock  on  the  open  range  comes 
under  the  head  of  dry  farming,  for  farming  includes  the 
idea  of  cultivating  the  soil.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
keeping  of  live  stock  is  not  only  not  incompatible  with 
dry  farming,  but  is  in  a  certain  sense  supplementary  to 
it.  The  dry  land  farmer  is  not  only  a  grower  of  grain 
and  other  products,  but  he  may  be  also  a  grower  of  live 
stock. 

The  food  that  he  grows  may  be,  and  is  in  many  in- 
stances, used  in  feeding  live  stock  grazed  on  his  own  ara- 
ble farm,  or  on  rugged  lands  adjacent  thereto.  In  some 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  3 

areas  the  keeping  of  live  stock  may  with  propriety  be- 
come a  feature  of  dry  land  farming  from  the  very  outset. 

Nor  does  dry  farming  mean  the  growing  of  all  crops 
proper  to  the  latitude.  Some  of  these  may  succeed  ad- 
mirably in  a  certain  latitude  when  the  rainfall  is  normal, 
and  yet  they  may  partially  or  entirely  fail  when  it  is 
less  than  normal.  Other  crops,  even  of  the  same  spe- 
cies, may  succeed  because  of  greater  inherent  ability  to 
withstand  drought  and  hard  conditions  generally.  Such 
crops  only  should  be  grown  in  dry  areas  as  may  show 
reasonable  adaptation  for  the  same. 

What  dry  farming  does  mean. — Dry  farming  means : 
(1)  growing  crops  under  semi-arid  conditions;  (2)  grow- 
ing crops  where  the  moisture  is  normally  deficient;  (3) 
growing  them  where  moisture  is  temporarily  deficient, 
and  (4)  growing  special  crops  by  special  methods. 
Shortage  in  the  moisture  supply  is  the  dominant  thought 
that  underlies  any  definition  that  may  be  framed  regard- 
ing dry  farming. 

Where  arid  conditions  prevail,  crops  cannot  be 
grown  successfully  without  the  aid  of  irrigation.  In 
such  areas  there  may  be  rain,  but  it  is  not  enough  to 
produce  vegetation  that  is  of  any  special  value  without 
the  aid  of  man,  and  even  with  his  aid  it  cannot  be  made 
profitable  in  the  absence  of  irrigation.  Where  semi-arid 
conditions  prevail,  nature  unaided  produces. growth,  but 
it  is  sparse  and  deficient  rather  than  generous  and  ample. 
Under  these  conditions,  however,  growth  may  be  made 
so  to  aid  nature  in  her  effort,  that  production  sparse  and 
niggardly  may  be  supplemented  by  production  generous 
and  even  bountiful  'within  certain  limitations.  In  some 
of  these  .areas  the  farmer  has  been  able  to  grow  more 
than  70  bushels  of  No.  1  hard  wheat  per  acre  on  land 
that  called  for  10  to  20  acres  of  pasture  to  carry  a  cattle 
beast  weighing  1,000  pounds  through  the  year.  The 
border  line  between  arid  and  semi-arid  production  runs 


4  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

along  between  areas  where  the  precipitation  is  so  short 
that  man  cannot  secure  profitable  production  therefrom  in 
the  absence  of  irrigation,  and  where  he  can  secure  the 
same,  notwithstanding  the  shortage  in  the  precipitation. 
This  border  line  is  not  alone  determined  by  the  amount 
of  precipitation,  but  also  by  the  season  when  it  comes 
and  by  the  soil,  subsoil  and  climate.  The  precipitation 
that  forms  this  dividing  line,  therefore,  cannot  be  stated 
precisely  in  inches,  as  it  will  vary  with  the  conditions. 
It  is  not  far,  however,  from  8  to  10  inches. 

Where  dry  farm  methods  are  practised,  the  precip- 
itation is  usually  so  ,short  that  special  methods  of  culti- 
vation are  necessary  in  order  to  produce  good  crops. 
But  some  seasons  it  may  be  enough  to  grow  such  crops 
without  resorting  to  these  methods.  Since  it  cannot  be 
known  beforehand  when  such  seasons  will  come,  the 
land  in  those  areas  shoulql  be  tilled  every  season  with 
a  view  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  a  dry  season  the  follow- 
ing year  should  it  come.  Even  though  it  should  ^not  come 
the  labor  thus  expended  will  not  be  lost,  because  of  the 
helpful  influence  that  such  careful  handling  of  the  soil 
will  have  on  the  production.  The  amount  of  the  pre- 
cipitation that  will  make  production  profitable  cannot  be 
stated  definitely  in  inches,  as  it  will  vary  from  the  same 
causes  that  lead  to  variation  under  arid  conditions.  Good 
crops  can  be  grown  almost  any  season  where  the  normal 
precipitation  runs,  say,  10  to  15  inches.  These  figures, 
however,  are  not  given  as  the  minimum  or  maximum  of 
the  precipitation  called  for  as  essential  to  the  growth  of 
crops  in  semi-arid  areas. 

While  the  practise  of  dry  fanning  methods  has,  until 
the  recent  past,  been  confined  wholly  or  almost  wholly 
to  areas  where  the  normal  precipitation  is  more  or  less 
deficient  for  the  best  needs  of  the  crops  every  year,  it 
is  now  coming  to  be  practised  in  modified  form  in  areas 
where  the  annual  precipitation  is  enough  or  more  than 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  5 

enough  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  crops  were  it  properly 
conserved.  Nearly  all  areas,  howsoever  large  the  rain- 
fall may  be,  have  a  dry  period  more  or  less  prolonged 
during  the  season  of  growth  in  the  crops.  To  provide 
for  such  periods,  more  or  less  moisture  should  be  con- 
served, and  the  methods  for  conserving  it  are  essentially 
the  same  as  for  conserving  moisture  in  dry  areas. 

All  the  species  of  crops  that  may  be  grown  success- 
fully in  a  certain  latitude  where-  the  rainfall  is  ample 
cannot  be  grown  with  the  same  success,  if,  indeed,  they 
can  be  grown  at  all,  under  dry  farming  methods.  The 
same  is  true  of  varieties  of  the  species.  The  crops  grown 
must  be  special,  as  it  were ;  that  is,  those  must  be  given 
the  right  of  way  which  show  the  highest  adaptation,  as 
it  were,  for  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  grown, 
nor  can  these  be  grown  by  the  same  methods  as  obtain 
in  the  growing  of  the  same  varieties  when  moisture  is 
abundant.  These  special  crops  and  the  special  methods 
of  growing  them  will  be  discussed  at  length  in  another 
place  (see  chapter  X). 

Growing  special  crops. — The  crops  grown  by  dry 
farming  methods  must  in  a  sense  be  special.  This  means 
they  must  to  some  extent  at  least  be  special  with  refer- 
ence: (1)  to  class  and  to  variety;  (2)  to  drought-resist- 
ing qualities ;  (3)  to  capacity  to  gather  food ;  (4)  to  early 
maturity,  and  (5)  to  methods  of  cultivation. 

All  classes  of  crops  that  have  adaptation  for  being 
grown  in  a  certain  latitude  have  not  by  any  means  the 
same  adaptation  for  being  grown  under  semi-arid  condi- 
tions. It  would  be  vain  to  try  to  make  a  marked  suc- 
cess of  growing  such  species  in  these,  (1)  as  flourish 
best  in  a  moist  atmosphere;  (2)  that  call  for  much  pre- 
cipitation relatively  while  they  are  growing,  and  (3)  that 
make  the  larger  portion  of  their  growth  late  in  the 
season.  The 'common  vetch  furnishes  an  example  of  the 
first,  clover  of  the  second  and  certain  field  roots  of  the 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


third.  The  same  is  true  of  many  varieties  within  the 
species.  They  may  not  have  the  staying  qualities  which 
enable  them  to  endure  what  may  be  termed  trying  con- 
ditions for  growth,  while  these  may  be  possessed  by  other 
varieties  of  the  same  class  and  which  may  be  less  valu- 
able than  the  former,  when  grown  under  favorable  con- 
ditions. This  explains  in  part  at  least  why  in  the  dry 
country  some  rugged  varieties  of  spring  wheat  are  gen- 


DRY  LAND  GRAIN  GROWN  NEAR  PALOUSE,  WASHINGTON. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

erally  preferred  to  varieties  which  may  have  superior 
milling   qualities. 

It  is  essential  that  the  crops  grown  shall  be  drought- 
resistant  in  a  marked  degree.  The  difference  in  plants 
in  this  respect  is  very  marked.  It  explains  why  certain 
species  of  sage  brush  flourish  where  the  most  drought- 
resistant  grasses  may  fail,  and  why  Kafir  corn  and  Milo 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  7 

maize  may  succeed.  Alfalfa,  because  of  its  power  to 
resist  drought,  will  through  all  time  be  one  of  the 
most  important  crops  that  will  ever  be  grown  in  semi- 
arid  areas.  The  difference  in  the  drought-resisting  quali- 
ties within  the  species  is  very  considerable,  as  in  the 
far  greater  power  that  western  rye  grass  has  to  resist 
drought  than  timothy.  But  the  difference  in  these  quali- 
ties between  species  is  even  greater,  as  sage  brush  will 
cling  to  life  where  western  rye  grass  could  not  survive. 

The  difference  in  the  ability  of  plants  to  gather  food 
in  the  soil  is  very  marked.  This  difference  may  arise :  (1) 
from  the  character  of  the  root  development;  (2)  from 
the  area  in  which  they  feed,  and  (3)  from  the  power  which 
inheres  in  them  to  gather  food.  The  roots  of  alfalfa  go 
far  down  into  the  ground,  hence  it  can  gather  food  from 
an  area  beyond  the  reach  of  the  roots  of  many  other 
plants.  This  area  is  also  frequently  relatively  well  sup- 
plied with  moisture.  Some  plants  produce  the  larger 
portion  of  the  growth  not  far  from  the  surface,  as  tim- 
othy for  instance,  hence  these  are  ill  adapted  to  dry  con- 
ditions. Other  plants  have  more  inherent  power  to  gath- 
er food  from  a  given  soil  area,  as  rye  of  the  winter  or 
spring  varieties,  hence  they  have  relatively  higher  ad- 
aptation to  dry  conditions.  This  goes  far  to  explain  why 
rye  may  succeed  under  conditions  that  would  not  suffice 
to  produce  a  paying  crop  of  wheat. 

Under  nearly  all  conditions  in  the  semi-arid  country 
the  weather  becomes  very  dry  as  the  harvest  season 
approaches,  and  in  consequence  crops  that  mature  late 
may  be  seriously  harmed  by  this  condition.  Because 
of  this,  crops  that  mature  early  are  relatively  better 
adapted  to  dry  areas  than  those  that  mature  late.  This 
fact  cannot  be  disregarded  when  deciding  as  to  the  spe- 
cies and  varieties  that  shall  be  grown.  The  earlier  that 
the  dry  period  usually  comes  the  more  important  it  is 
that  the  crops  grown  shall  mature  early.  This  explains 


8  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

why  in  the  semi-arid  areas  winter  crops  are  chiefly  grown 
when  the  rainfall  is  greatest  in  winter,  and  is  followed  by 
dry  weather  by  the  time  when  summer  arrives.  They 
mature  in  advance  of  the  coming  of  the  dry  weather. 

The  methods  of  cultivation  by  which  crops  may  be 
grown  have  a  marked  influence  on  the  choice  of  the  crops 
to  be  grown.  Those  that  *may  be  given  the  largest 
amount  of  cultivation  during  growth,  other  things  being- 
equal,  are  the  most  likely  to  succeed.  Because  of  this 
such  crops  as  corn  and  sorghum  are  most  likely  to  suc- 
ceed. Next  to  these  are  crops  that  may  be  disced  or 
harrowed  more  or  less  while  they  are  growing,  such  as 
alfalfa  and  the  small  grains.  The  most  difficult  crops  to 
grow  in  dry  areas  are  grasses,  since  they  are  given  little 
or  no  cultivation  while  they  are  growing.  From  what 
has  been  said  it  is  evident  that  in  a  dry  country  the  range 
of  the  crops  grown  is  less  wide  than  the  same  in  a  humid 
country. 

Growing  crops  by  special  methods. — In  dry  areas 
crops  are  usually  grown  by  special  methods,  that  is  by 
methods  that  differ  more  or  less  from  the  methods  usual- 
ly followed  in  humid  areas.  The  methods  relate:  (1) 
to  the  preparation  of  the  soil ;  (2)  to  sowing  or  planting 
the  crop;  (3)  to  the  cultivation  given  subsequently  to 
planting,  and  (4)  to  the  order  in  the  succession  in  which 
they  are  grown.  The  methods  to  be  followed  in  prepar- 
ing the  soil  and  in  planting  and  cultivating  the  crops  will 
be  given  in  detail  later.  At  this  time  the  aim  will  be 
simply  to  call  attention  to  the  sense  in  which  these  opera- 
tions are  special. 

The  preparation  of  the  land  is  special  in  the  pains 
taken  to  increase  the  moisture  supply  in  the  soil,  and 
to  hold  it  in  the  same  until  it  is  needed  for  the  crops. 
In  humid  climates  but  little  attention  is  paid  to  increas- 
ing the  moisture  content  in  the  soil.  Generally  speaking 
the  supply  is  ample  in  these  to  germinate  the  grain. 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  9 

It  is  not  so  in  semi-arid  areas.  The  special  methods 
resorted  to  in  the  latter  thus  to  increase  the  moisture 
supply  include,  deepening  the  tillage  by  plowing  and  sub- 
soiling,  packing  the  soil  when  plowed,  and  maintaining 
on  it  a  dust  mulch,  and  by  observing  much  precision  as 
to  timeliness  in  performing  all  these  operations.  They 
may  be  practised  more  or  less  in  humid  climates,  but  in 
these  they  are  much  less  needed,  and  when  called  for 
there  is  much  more  of  latitude  as  to  the  time  when  the 
work  shall  be  done.  In  the  latter  they  may  be  largely 
omitted  or  carelessly  done,  and  yet  a  crop  of  consider- 
able value  may  be  reaped.  In  the  former  such  omission 
or  carelessness  would  almost  certainly  be  followed  by  fail- 
ure. In  humid  climates  an  excess  of  water  reaches  the 
soil,  insomuch  that  special  means  must  be  resorted  to 
with  a  view  to  remove  it.  These  include  the  making  and 
maintaining  of  open  ditches  and  the  construction  of  un- 
derdrains.  These  are  seldom  or  never  wanted  in  dry 
areas ;  on  the  other  hand,  measures  are  frequently  adopted 
to  prevent  water  from  running  away  should  it  come  in 
the  form  of  a  downpour,  an  occurrence  that  is  not  infre- 
quent in  some  parts  of  the  arid  country. 

The  methods  of  planting  are  special  with  reference 
to  the  time  of  sowing^  the  seed,  to  promptness  in  sowing 
the  same,  to  the  quantity  that  is  sown,  and  to  the  man- 
ner of  sowing.  In  humid  climates,  the  time  covered  by 
the  season  for  sowing  or  planting  is  relatively  long; 
in  dry  areas  it  is  short,  as,  unless  the  crop  is  sown  at  the 
right  season,  the  dry  weather  that  invariably  comes  later 
may  damage  or  destroy  the  crop.  The  seed  called  for  in 
dry  areas  is  much  less  than  in  humid  areas  to  meet  the 
conditions  of  growth  that  the  moisture  supply  will  best 
maintain.  In  dry  areas  the  seed  must  go  down  to  moist 
soil  or  germination  is  pretty  certain  to  fail,  a  result 
which  is  much  less  likely  in  humid  areas. 

In  humid  areas  cereal  crops  are  not  usually  given 


10  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

any  cultivation  after  they  are  planted.  In  dry  areas 
it  is  the  exception  to  grow  these  without  some  cultiva- 
tion. It  is  usually  given  in  the  form  of  harrowing.  Har- 
rowing the  crop  after  it  appears  may  make  the  differ- 
ence between  securing  a  fair  crop  and  virtually  no  crop 
at  all.  The  management  of  cultivated  crops  is  not  great- 
ly different  in  humid  and  in  dry  areas,  save  in  the  degree 
of  the  same  called  for.  The  cultivation  called  for  in  the 
latter  is  considerably  greater  in  degree  than  in  the 
former.  It  may  also  be  profitably  extended  to  the  alfalfa 
crop. 

In  all  areas  a  certain  order  of  succession  in  the  crops 
is  helpful.  In  those  that  are  humid  the  succession  is 
much  wider  than  in  those  that  are  arid.  The  rotations 
in  the  former  may  be  varied,  and  yet  each  may  prove 
satisfactory.  In  dry  areas  it  is  very  different.  The  ro- 
tations peculiar  to  and  also  suitable  to  each  are  restrict- 
ed. This  arises  from  the  limited  amount  of  the  moisture 
that  is  available.  In  some  dry  areas  but  one  cereal  crop 
can  be  grown  in  two  years.  In  others  two  crops  may  be 
grown  in  three  years,  and  in  yet  other  instances  three 
crops  may  be  grown  in  four  years  (see  p.  397).  But  in 
all  these  instances,  special  methods  of  cultivation  are 
called  for. 

How  climates  may  be  classified. — With  reference  to 
precipitation  and  production,  climates  may  be  classified: 
(1)  as  arid;  (2)  semi-arid;  (3)  sub-humid,  and  (4)  humid. 
It  is  not  possible  to  state  in  figures,  other  than  in  an  ap- 
proximate way,  the  amount  of  the  precipitation  that 
properly  belongs  to  one  or  the  other  of  these  classifica- 
tions, since  precipitation  is  by  no  means  the  only  factor 
that  influences  production.  It  is  greatly  influenced  by 
soil  conditions  and  by  the  dryness  or  the  humidity  of 
the  atmosphere,  in  other  words  by  the  degree  of  the 
evaporation. 

An  arid  country  is  one  in  which  .paying  crops  cannot 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  11 

be  produced  by  the  ordinary  processes  of  cultivation. 
The  degree  ^of  the  aridity  may  be  partial  or  total.  It 
may  produce  sparse  growing  shrubs  as  sage  brush  and 
greasewood  and  even  grass,  but  the  production  of  grass 
will  be  quite  limited.  Even  the  shrubs  that  can  stand 
drought  best  will  not  grow  closely  together,  as,  if  they 
should  start  thus,  the  moisture  supply  would  not  be 
enough  for  each.  It  may  be  arid:  (1)  because  of  the 
scant  precipitation  that  falls  on  it;  (2)  because  of  the 
lack  of  plant  food  in  the  soil ;  (3)  because  of  the  pres- 
ence in  excess  of  certain  substances  in  the  soil,  as  alkali, 
which  are  so  unfavorable  to  plant  life  as  to  make  it  im- 
possible to  produce,  until  the  substances  inimical  to 
vegetation  are  removed  or  modified  in  their  chemical 
properties.  These  influences  may  act  separately  or  in 
conjunction.  The  more  nearly  they  act  in  conjunction, 
the  greater  is  the  degree  of  the  aridity.  More  commonly 
however,  aridity  is  caused  by  an  insufficient  precipita- 
tion. In  the  major  portion  of  the  area  that  is  arid  in  the 
western  states,  the  soil  is  not  only  rich  in  the  elements  of 
plant  food,  but  it  is  in  many  instances  remarkably  so. 
This  is  especially  true  with  reference  to  the  mineral 
constituents,  and  it  arises,  first,  from  the  store  of  these 
in  the  original  rock  constituents  from  which  the  soils  were 
derived,  and,  second,  from  the  little  loss  in  the  same 
through  leaching.  Soils  of  this  class  are  greatly  pro- 
ductive when  irrigating  waters  are  intelligently  applied 
to  them. 

The  amount  of  the  precipitation-  that  results  in  arid- 
ity is  much  influenced  by  the  physical  character  of  the 
soil,  by  the  degree  of  the  evaporation,  and  by  the  season 
at  which  the  bulk  of  the  precipitation  falls.  A  soil  un- 
duly porous  calls  for  more  precipitation  to  render  it 
productive  that  one  that  has  an  amount  of  porosity  most 
favorable  to  the  retention  of  moisture,  without  being 
antagonistic .  to  aeration.  The  longer  the  season  for 


12  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

growth  and  the  drier  and  warmer  the  climate,  the  more 
rapid  is  the  evaporation.  The  less  the  precipitation  dur- 
ing the  period  of  growth,  the  more  of  the  same  that  is 
called  for  to  carry  production  beyond  the  point  of  arid- 
ity. The  amount  of  the  precipitation  that  will  limit 
aridity,  therefore,  cannot  be  exactly  stated;  it  is  a  shift- 
ing quantity.  In  the  northern  states  the  country  is 
classed  as  arid  when  the  annual  precipitation  is  not  more 
than,  say,  7  to  8  inches  on  the  average.  In  the  mountain 
states  far  south  it  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  from  8 
to  10  inches  would  be  called  for  to  effect  the  same  end. 
The  maximum  limit  of  rainfall  in  arid  America  is  not  far 
from  9  inches. 

A  country  may  be  classed  as  semi-arid  when  it  will 
produce  paying  crops,  but  only  by  what  may  be  termed 
special  processes  of  tillage.  It  may  produce  trees  of  such 
species  as  are  able  to  endure  hard  conditions,  shrubs  pos- 
sessed of  similar  characteristics,  and  also  grasses  that 
grow  but  for  a  limited  portion  of  the  period  of  possible 
growth.  The  influences  that  qualify  semi-aridity  are  the 
same  in  kind  as  those  which  determine  aridity,  but  they 
are  less  in  degree,  hence  it  is  not  easy  to  define  the  limits 
of  semi-aridity  in  terms  of  the  degree  of  the  precipitation. 
Ordinarily  a  country  may  be  classed  as  semi-arid  when 
the  annual  average  precipitation  is  not  less  than  9  inches 
nor  more  than  18  inches.  When  the  annual  average 
precipitation  is  not  more  than  15  inches,  special  methods 
of  tillage  are  necessary  in  order  to  insure  profitable  pro- 
duction. 

These  methods,  which  are  given  elsewhere,  have  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  conservation  of  moisture  in  the  soil 
(see  pp.  165-172).  The  production  which  may  be  secured, 
especially  in  the  form  of  grain,  is  very  gratifying.  It  is 
more  easily  obtained  and  is  much  greater  in  degree  as  a 
rule  in  areas  where  the  natural  precipitation  is  supple- 
mented by  subterranean  water  moving  laterally  in  the 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  13 

soil  and  so  near  the  surface  as  to  aid  more  or  less  the 
growing  crops.  In  semi-arid  areas  the  precipitation  some 
seasons  may  be  so  increased  as  to  render  them  sub-humid 
for  the  time  being.  In  such  seasons  production  may  be 
secured  by  the  ordinary  methods  of  tillage.  In  other  sea- 
sons it  may  be  so  low  as  to  render  them  for  the  time 
being  in  a  sense  arid,  b.ut  both  these  extremes  are  ex- 
ceptional. But  since  it  cannot  be  known  when  they  will 
come,  the  special  methods  of  handling  these  soils  when 
preparing  them  for  being  cropped  should  never  be 
omitted. 

Sub-humid  areas  are  those  in  which  crops  may  or- 
dinarily be  grown  every  year,  but  wherein  some  seasons 
the  precipitation  is  so  light  that  partial  failure  follows  in 
the  absence  of  special  measures  to  conserve  the  moisture 
in  the  soil,  and  that  which  comes  to  it.  The  precipitation 
in  sub-humid  climates  may  run  from,  say,  18  to  27  inches. 
In  these  the  precipitation  may  occasionally  fall  so 
low  as  to  make  them  temporarily  semi-arid.  In  other 
instances  it  may  be  so  abundant  as  to  carry  them  tem- 
porarily into  the  humid  class.  The  aridity  of  these  may 
in  some  instances  be  such  as  to  make  crop  production 
difficult,  and  in  other  instances  the  humidity  may  be 
such  as  to  call  for  drainage  to  carry  away  the  excess  of 
water  from  the  soil.  In  cultivating  these  soils  some  of 
the  practises  followed  in  cultivating  dry  areas  will  ren- 
der production  more  sure  than  it  would  otherwise  be. 
Sub-humid  areas  have  special  adaptation  for  profitable 
production,  as  the  precipitation  is  usually  enough  to 
produce  a  crop  with  proper  tillage  and  it  is  seldom  enough 
to  destroy  it  or  even  to  seriously  harm  it.  Nor  is  it 
enough  to  remove  very  much  fertility  through  leaching. 

Humid  climates  are  those  in  which  the  precipitation 
is  such  that  production  is  reasonably  sure  every  year 
from  the  ordinary  processes  of  tillage.  In  these  the 
precipitation  is  not  only  heavy,  but  in  sympathy  there- 


14  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

with  the  dews  are  heavy  and  the  air  is  moist.  The  rain- 
fall is  frequently  so  excessive  that  drainage  in  one  form 
or  another  must  be  given  the  most  careful  attention  by 
those  who  till  the  soil.  In  such  areas  the  precipitation 
is  27  inches  in  the  year  and  upwards.  In  some  maritime 
areas  it  is  as  much  as  70  inches  and  upwards.  Where 
the  precipitation  is  very  heavy  the  loss  to  the  soil  in 
fertility  through  leaching  is  considerable,  and  the  remov- 
al of  soil  by  denudation  is  quite  frequently  very  serious. 
Notwithstanding,  in  nearly  all  even  of  the  areas  that  are 
humid  there  is  a  dry  season  in  which  the  crops  may  suf- 
fer in  the  absence  of  measures  to  protect  the  moisture, 
that  is,  in  the  absence  of  some  of  the  operations  that 
apply  in  tilling  semi-arid  areas. 

The  influences  that  affect  aridity. — Foremost  among 
the  influences  that  affect  aridity  is  the  amount  of  the 
precipitation.  When  this  is  too  low  for  successful  crop 
production  under  the  conditions  present,  no  matter  how 
favorable  the  other  qualifying  influences  are,  the  effort 
to  grow  paying  crops  must  fail.  These  qualifying  influ- 
ences include:  (1)  the  character  of  the  precipitation;  (2) 
the  season  of  the  same ;  (3)  various  influences  that  affect 
moisture  evaporation,  and  (4)  those  which  affect  filtra- 
tion and  the  leaching  of  moisture  in  the  soil  and  sub- 
soil. Because  of  these  qualifying  influences,  the  results 
to  be  expected  from  a  given  amount  of  precipitation 
cannot  by  any  means  be  definitely  forecasted.  They  will 
vary  greatly.  The  amount  that  would  suffice  to  produce 
a  given  result  in  one  instance  would  be  wholly  inade- 
quate in  another  instance,  and  yet  it  would  seem  safe  to 
make  the  statement  that  crop  production  would  be  vir- 
tually quite  safe  and  remunerative  where  the ,  rainfall 
is  not  less  than  15  inches  on  ordinary  soils,  and  that  it 
should  be  generally  safe  and  remunerative  where  the 
rainfall  is  not  less  than  9  to  10  inches.  These  statements 
are  based  on  experience  and  observation.  Where  the 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  15 

rainfall  is  less  than,  say,  10  inches,  the  production  is  more 
or  less  uncertain. 

The  character  of  the  precipitation  is  far-reaching 
in  its  influence.  Should  it  come  in  the  form  of  a  cloud- 
burst or  even  of  a  downpour  which  is  not  a  cloudburst, 
the  hazard  is  present  that  much  of  it  will  be  lost  by  run- 
ning away  over  the  surface,  and  that  it  will  carry  to  lower 
levels  more  or  less  valuable  soil.  Should  it  come  in 
the  form  of  snow,  the  benefit  to  the  soil  and  crops  will 
be  governed  largely  by  the  condition  of  the  soil  when  it 
melts,  and  by  the  manner  of  the  melting.  "If  the  ground 
is  frozen  hard  and  deeply  below  the  snow  and  it  thaws 
quickly,  only  a  small  amount  of  it  will  reach  the  soil, 
but  if  on  the  other  hand  the  ground  is  but  little  frozen, 
much  of  the  resultant  water  will  find  its  way  -  into  the 
soil,  more  especially  when  the  soil  has  recently  been 
stirred  to  a  good  depth.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  vanishes 
slowly  in  a  dry  atmosphere  much  of  it  will  be  absorbed 
by  the  same,  thus  never  reaching  the  ground.  Should 
the  showers  come  very  lightly  and  with  considerable 
frequency,  they  may  do  but  little  good,  as  without  an 
excessive  amount  of  harrowing  on  cultivated  land,  the 
loss  of  moisture  could  not  be  wholly  or  even  chiefly  pre- 
vented. The  greatest  benefit  results  from  the  precipita- 
tion when  it  comes  moderately  and  in  considerable 
amounts  at  a  time,  and  not  too  frequently.  Nearly  all  the 
influences  named,  it  will  be  observed,  are  quite  beyond 
the  control  of  man. 

The  season  of  the  precipitation  is  quite  as  important 
as  the  character  of  the  same,  if  not  indeed  more  so.  The 
greater  the  amount  of  the  precipitation  relatively  that 
falls  during  the  growing  season,  the  greater  is  the  por- 
duction  likely  to  be  that  arises  therefrom.  In  much  of 
the  western  portion  of  the  semi-arid  country,  more  than 
50  per  cent,  of  the  precipitation  comes  during  the  season 
of  growth.  Westward  in  the  same,  more  of  it  comes 


16  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

relatively  in  the  late  autumn  and  in  the  winter  months, 
which  so  far  is  less  favorable  to  production  except  in 
the  case  of  a  limited  number  of  varieties  of  cereals  and 
grasses,  but  the  loss  is  counterbalanced  in  a  considerable 
degree  by  the  relatively  large  proportion  of  the  precipi- 
tation that  falls  in  winter  which  may  enter  the  soil  at 
that  season,  because  of  the  limited  extent  to  which  it  re- 
mains frozen.  Precipitation  that  is  most  timely,  on  the 
whole,  is  that  which  falls  but  lightly  in  the  winter  season 
and  freely  in  the  season  of  growth. 

Prominent  among  the  influences  that  affect  the  evap- 
oration of  moisture  are:  (1)  winds;  (2)  abundant  and 
hot  sunshine,  and  (3)  low  humidity.  The  more  dry  and 
warm  the  winds  that  blow  over  a  given  area,  the  more 
forceful  that  they  are,  and  the  more  constantly  that 
they  blow,  the  greater  is  the  amount  of  the  moisture  that 
they  remove  from  the  soil. 

In  the  arid  and  semi-arid  areas,  the  air  is  much  less 
moisture-laden  than  in  humid  areas;  hence  it  takes 
moisture  more  readily  from  the  soil.  In  much  of  the 
bench  land  and  prairie  areas,  the  winds  blow  with  con- 
siderable force  and  with  no  little  constancy,  especially 
during  the  spring  months.  Unless  it  is  prevented,  they 
will  carry  with  them  much  of  the  moisture  that  is  in  the 
soil.  In  the  absence  of  preventive  measures,  so  much 
will  have  been  lost  that  before  the  summer  is  well 
under  way  the  vegetation  will  languish.  The  hotter  the 
winds  the  more  rapidly  do  they  draw  on  soil  moisture, 
as  transpiration  from  the  plants  is  relatively  more  rapid. 
The  almost  constant  sunshine  tends  to  draw  heavily 
on  the  moisture  in  the  unprotected  soil,  and  the  heat  of 
the  same  proportionately  intensifies  this  condition.  The 
heat  of  the  summer  sunshine  is  greatest  in  the  valleys, 
hence  the  drain  on  moisture  in  these  is  relatively  great- 
est; on  the  higher  elevations  the  degree  of  the  heat  is 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  17 

relatively  less,  and  the  drafts  on  soil  moisture  are  rela- 
tively decreased. 

The  physical  texture  of  the  soil  and  subsoil  exerts  a 
marked  effect  on  the  filtration  and  leaching  of  water  in 
the  soil.  Coarse  sandy  and  gravelly  soils  lose  water 
much  more  readily  than  soils  that  have  a  considerable 
clay  element  in  them.  Since  more  of  the  precipitation 
that  falls  on  the  former  is  lost  through  the  downward 
movement  of  the  waters,  it  follows  that  these  are  consid- 
erably less  favorable  to  crop  production  in  semi-arid  re- 
gions than  the  latter.  This  also  goes  far  to  explain  why 
it  is  possible  to  grow  good  crops  on  the  bench  lands  more 
easily  and  surely  than  in  the  river  basins  of  the  west 
in  the  absence  of  irrigation.  The  soils  in  the  latter  are 
usually  much  more  porous  in  texture.  The  larger  the 
amount  of  humus  in  the  soil  the  less  will  be  the  losses 
from  filtration  and  leaching. 

The  dominant  idea  in  dry  farming. — The  dominant 
idea  in  dry  farming  is  in  a  sense  two-fold.  It  seeks  to 
secure  to  the  greatest  extent  practicable  the  con- 
servation and  also  the  accumulation  of  moisture  in  the 
soil.  To  accomplish  this  end  the  soil  is  stirred  deeply, 
whether  by  the  aid  of  the  plow  alone  or  by  following 
the  plow  with  the  subsoiler,  or  by  using  some  other 
implement,  as  the  deep  tilling  machine.  The  ground  is 
compressed  subsequent  to  plowing,  and  a  dust  mulch 
is  maintained  upon  the  surface.  The  increase  of  organic 
matter  in  the  soil  is  also  sought. 

To  say  that  dry  farming  seeks  the  conservation  of 
moisture  states  only  half  the  truth.  Moisture  cannot  be 
conserved  in  the  soil  until  it  enters  the  same. 

It  is  of  prime  importance,  therefore,  that  the  pre- 
cipitation shall  be  made  to  enter  the  soil  to  the  greatest 
extent  possible  under  the  existing  conditions.  It  will 
be  able  to  enter  the  soil  when  it  falls  upon  it  in  propor- 
tion :  (1)  to  the  loose  condition  in  which  the  soil  is  kept 


18  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

on  and  near  the  surface ;  (2)  to  the  depth  to  which  it  has 
been  stirred  by  the  implements  of  tillage,  and  (3)  to  the 
measures  taken  to  arrest  precipitation  that  is  violent 
in  character.  When  the  soil  is  thus  treated  in  semi- 
arid  areas,  there  should  be  an  accumulation  of  moisture 
up  to  a  certain  limit.  The  determination  of  that  .limit  will 
depend  upon  such  influences  as  the  amount  of  the  normal 
precipitation,  the  extent  to  which  measures  have  been 
adopted  for  conserving  the  moisture,  and  to  the  extent 
to  which  the  soil  moisture  is  .drawn  upon  by  the  crops 
that  are  grown.  The  increase  of  the  moisture  content 
in  the  soil  and  subsoil  is  clearly  shown  in  a  comparison 
made  of  soils  in  the  semi-arid  areas  that  have  never 
been  tilled  and  similar  soils  adjacent  that  have  been 
tilled  judiciously  for  a  term  of  years.  The  increase  of 
moisture  in  the  latter  is  marked.  The  methods  of  con- 
serving moisture  are  given  in  chapters  VII  and  VIII. 

The  deep  stirring  of  the  soil  and  subsoil  not  only 
admits  the  moisture  more  readily,  but  it  increases  the 
holding  capacity  of  the  soil.  When  moisture  falls  it 
descends  quickly  in  the  spaces  between  the  particles  of 
soil  in  the  cultivated  section  of  the  same,  and  but  slowly 
in  the  undisturbed  subsoil,  that  is,  when  the  subsoil  is 
naturally  dense.  If  the  soil'  has  not  been  stirred  at  all, 
much  of  the  precipitation  that  falls  on  such  soils  in  semi- 
arid  areas  runs  away  over  the  surface.  When  stirred, 
the  moisture  enters  the  soil  quickly  as  far  as  it  has  been 
stirred.  In  such  instances  the  holding  capacity  of  these 
soils  is  soon  met,  hence  any  excess  of  moisture  falling 
at  such  a  time  runs  away  over  the  surface.  Increase, 
therefore,  in  the  depth  to  which  the  soil  has  been  stirred 
within  a  comparatively  recent  period,  means  increase  in 
the  capacity  of  the  soil  to  receive  moisture.  For  the  dis- 
cussion on  the  deep  stirring  of  the  soil,  see  pp.  129,  133. 

The  object  sought  in  compressing  the  soil  is  to 
prevent  the  escape  of  moisture  from  land  that  has  been 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  19 

recently  plowed.  The  plowing  causes  the  particles  to 
lie  loosely.  The  dry  air  enters  readily  and  passes  between 
them  in  its  onward  movement,  and  in  its  exit  carries 
away  more  or  less  of  the  moisture.  The  more  prompt 
and  complete  the  compression,  the  less  is  the  loss  of 
moisture.  The  object  of  the  soil  mulch  is  to  prevent 
the  escape  of  moisture  that  moves  upward  in  the  soil, 
on  the  principle  of  capillarity.  The  dust  mulch  may  be 
maintained  most  readily  in  land  that  is  summer-fallowed, 
because  of  the  unlimited  opportunity  given  for  renewing 
it.  It  may  also  be  readily  maintained  in  areas  that  are 
planted  to  crops  which  call  for  cultivation  while  they 
are  being  grown.  It  may  be  maintained  in  cereals  in 
many  instances  until  these  become  large  enough  to  form 
for  themselves  what  may  be  termed  a  shade  mulch.  Most 
difficult  of  all  is  it  to  maintain  a  dust  mulch  on  grasses. 
In  many  instances  it  may  be  unwise  to  attempt  this. 
For  the  further  discussion  of  the  retention  of  soil 
moisture,  see  pp.  165-172. 

Organic  matter  in  the  soil  increases  its  power  to 
hold  moisture  and  in  a  marked  degree.  In  the  process  of 
decay  it  absorbs  moisture  as  a  sponge  absorbs  water, 
thus  influencing  its  passage  downward  or  upward.  It 
tends  to  fill  the  soil  spaces  in  leachy  soils  so  that  water 
cannot  percolate  down  through  them  so  readily.  It 
has  been  said  that  in  semi-arid  areas  a  soil  well  supplied 
with  organic  matter  will  grow  an  equal  crop  on  half  the 
amount  of  the  precipitation  that  will  be  called  for  by  a 
soil  similar  in  its  physical  constituents  but  destitute  of 
organic  matter.  Organic  matter  also  influences  favor- 
ably the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  and  furnishes  food 
in  a  readily  available  condition  for  the  feeding  of  crops. 
See  also  pp.  414-423. 

Contrasted  with  farming  in  humid  areas. — Dry  farm- 
ing differs  from  other  farming  in  at  least  the  following 
senses:  (1)  It  is  confessedly  more  difficult.  (2)  It  calls 


20  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

for  more  exact  work.  (3)  It  maintains  superior  clean- 
liness in  the  soil.  (4)  It  is  in  a  sense  high-class  farming. 
From  what  has  been  stated,  the  claim  that  is  sometimes 
made  that  dry  farming  methods  are  essentially  the  same 
as  those  followed  in  other  states  is  not  tenable.  Dry 
farming  methods  are  essentially  different  in  some 
respects  from  those  practised  in  humid  areas.  In  the 
latter  in  some  instances  the  all-important  idea  is  to 
remove  moisture  from  the  soil,  whereas  in  the  former 
it  is  to  conserve  moisture  in  the  same. 

That  dry  farming  is  more  difficult  than  humid  farm- 
ing will  be  at  once  apparent  from  the  consideration  that 
the  returns  from  dry  farming  rest  chiefly  on  the  extent 
to  which  moisture  is  conserved  in  the  soil,  whereas  in 
humid  areas  but  little  attention  is  called  for  with  refer- 
ence to  this  phase  of  farming.  The  measures  which 
secure  the  conservation  of  moisture  call  for  the  expendi- 
ture of  added  labor  that  in  many  instances  is  not  neces- 
sary under  the  humid  conditions.  The  excess  of  the 
labor  thus  called  for  increases  with  increase  of  the 
degree  of  the  shortage  in  the  normal  precipitation.  In 
humid  areas  the  farmer  may  get  a  crop  in  a  favorable 
season  from  very  imperfect  methods  of  cultivation.  In 
semi-arid  areas  such  a  result  very  seldom  follows.  In 
humid  areas  defective  methods  of  farming  may  result 
in  more  or  less  of  a  crop  and  is  seldom  followed  by  com- 
plete failure.  In  dry  areas  the  hazard  is  very  frequently 
present  that  such  methods  will  be  followed  by  entire 
failure  in  the  crop.  Some  of  the  phases  of  dry  farming 
are  more  difficult  than  others.  This  is  especially  true  of 
the  pasture  problem  because  of  the  difficulty  in  applying 
methods  that  will  conserve  moisture  in  the  pastures. 

Farming  in  dry  areas  calls  for  more  exact  work  than 
farming  in  humid  areas:  (1)  in  the  preparation  of  the 
soil;  (2)  in  the  time  of  sowing  the  crop;  (3)  in  caring 
for  the  same.  In  humid  areas  at  least  partial  crops  may 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  21 

be  secured  from  indifferent  methods  of  soil  preparation. 
In  dry  areas  this  result  will  seldom  follow.  In  the  former 
it  is  seldom  necessary  to  conserve  moisture  to  aid  in 
growing  the  next  crop.  In  dry  areas  it  is  indispensably 
necessary.  In  humid  areas  but  little  attention  is  called 
for  in  firming  the  seed  bed  by  artificial  methods,  in  dry 
areas  such  firming  of  the  seed  bed  is  essential  to  success. 

In  humid  areas  the  season  for  sowing  is  much  more 
prolonged  both  in  the  spring  and  in  the  autumn  than  in 
those  that  are  dry,  hence  timeliness  in  sowing  is  relatively 
more  important.  In  the  former  sowing  or  planting  that 
is  delayed  beyond  the  usual  time  may  not  result  in  crop 
failure  or  even  in  greatly  diminished  yields  in  all 
instances.  In  the  latter  it  will  commonly  result  in  failure 
that  is  absolute  or  approximately  so.  Early  sowing, 
though  important  in  all  areas,  is  relatively  less  so  in 
moist  areas,  as  in  these  the  moisture  necessary  to  mature 
good  crops  is  much  more  likely  to  be  present  than  in  dry 
areas.  In  the  latter  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  sow  crops 
in  good  season  to  avoid  the  hazard  of  failure. 

When  caring  for  the  crops  in  humid  areas,  what  is 
not  done  today  may  in  many  instances  be  done  nearly 
if  not  quite  as  well  tomorrow.  The  moisture  content  in 
the  soil,  especially  in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  a  sufficiency 
for  seed  germination,  is  practically  assured.  In  dry 
areas  the  moisture  that  is  not  conserved  today  may  in  a 
considerable  degree  be  lost  tomorrow.  In  humid  areas  it 
may  not  be  necessary  to  compress  and  pack  the  lower 
surface  of  the  soil  when  preparing  the  seed  bed.  In  dry 
areas  this  may  be  greatly  important.  In  humid  areas  it 
may  not  be  necessary  to  harrow  cereals  after  growth  has 
begun.  In  dry  areas  this  may  be  indispensable  to  success. 

In  the  very  nature  of -things  dry  farming  will  result 
in  greater  freedom  from  weed  growth  than  farming  in 
humid  areas.  In  the  former  the  natural  conditions  are 
much  less  favorable  to  germination  and  growth  in  weeds 


22  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

than  in  the  latter.  The  processes  of  cultivation  that  are 
absolutely  essential  to  the  conservation  of  moisture  in 
dry  areas  are  proportionately  destructive  to  weed  life. 
These  processes  include  those  involved  in  carefully 
summer-fallowing  for  certain  crops,  as  wheat,  when  pre- 
paring the  seed  bed  ;  careful  attention  when  growing  other 
crops,  as  corn ;  careful  harrowing  of  cereals  during  the 
early  stages  of  growth,  and  careful  discing  of  the  stubble 
land  at  some  time  previous  to  plowing  it.  In  humid  areas 
these  processes  are  chiefly  necessary  for  the  purpose  of 
cleaning  the  land,  but  in  dry  areas  they  are  even  more 
necessary  because  of  their  influence  on  the  retention  of 
moisture.  Weeds  that  fail  to  mature  may  work  but 
little  harm  in  a  summer-fallow  in  humid  areas.  In  dry 
areas  they  may  prove  fatal  to  successful  growth  in  the 
crop  that  follows. 

That  dry  farming  is  in  a  sense  high-class  farming  is 
evidenced:  (1)  in  the  skill  that  is  necessary  to  so  manip- 
ulate the  soil  that  it  will  grow  sure  and  paying  crops ; 
(2)  in  the  carefulness  that  must  be  observed  in  these 
manipulations;  (3)  in  the  promptness  that  must  be 
shown  in  every  detail  of  the  work. 

The  dry  land  farmer  must  understand  the  treatment 
that  must  be  given  to  his  particular  class  of  soil,  when 
the  hazard  if  not  the  certainty  of  failure  is  to  be  avoided. 
He  must  give  it  such  treatment,  howsoever  these  man- 
ipulations may  conflict  with  the  practises  followed  when 
seeking  simular  results  in  humid  climates.  He  must 
know  the  methods  pertaining  to  soil  preparation,  plant- 
ing and  cultivating  that  will  best  meet  the  needs  of  the 
soil  that  he  tills  under  the  climatic  conditions  that  are 
present;  he  must  also  know  the  succession  in  crop  pro- 
duction that  must  be  chosen  or  avoided  to  insure 
successful  crop  production.  The  carefulness  that  must 
be  observed  in  these  manipulations  is  shown  in  the 
necessity  that  is  ordinarily  present  for  packing  the  soil 


WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  DRY  FARMING  23 

at  once  when  it  is  plowed,  of  deepening  the  cultivated 
area  to  increase  its  moisture-holding  power,  and  of  main- 
taining a  smooth  and  fine  surface  mulch  or  one  that  is 
furrowed  and  uneven  so  as  to  best  meet  the  conditions 
of  the  precipitation. 

In  every  detail  of  the  work  the  farmer  must  observe 
promptness.  To  defer  plowing  land  for  one  week  when 
it  is  in  proper  condition  may  make  the  difference  between 
success  and  failure  in  growing  a  crop  of  winter  wheat, 
howsoever  carefully  the  land  may  be  managed  sub- 
sequently. The  loss  of  one  day  in  harrowing  land  after 
a  considerable  rain  may  result  in  the  loss  of  a  large  part 
of  the  moisture  that  is  brought  to  the  soil.  Neglecting 
to  make  a  dust  mulch  on  autumn  plowed  ground  in  the 
early  spring,  may  result  in  a  loss  of  moisture  that  may 
be  followed  by  a  loss  of  crop,  a  result  that  the  timely 
establishing  of  such  a  mulch  might  have  prevented. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  very  evident  that 
dry  farming  calls  for  a  high  order  of  intelligence  in  order 
to  conduct  it  on  the  most  approved  lines.  The  careless 
farmer  who  follows  shipshod  methods  may  secure  a 
livelihood  after  a  fashion  from  the  soil  in  humid  areas, 
but  he  cannot  do  this  in  dry  areas.  It  is  a  foregone  con- 
clusion that  he  will  utterly  fail.  The  great  mistake  of 
dry  land  farmers  who  come  from  humid  areas  is  that  of 
trying  to  grow  crops  by  methods  that  brought  them 
results  in  humid  areas.  These  methods  will  not  avail. 
Dry  land  farming  is  special  farming.  It  is  done  by 
special  methods,  and  the  first  duty  of  those  who  engage 
in  it  is  to  ascertain  what  those  methods  are. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING 

When  dry  farming  began  will  never  be  known  now. 
There  are  good  reasons  for  believing,  however,  that  it 
had  its  origin  not  far  from  where  the  human  race  was 
cradled,  or  at  least  not  far  from  the  mountain  on  which 
the  ark  rested  soon  after  the  flood.  That  region  is  dry 
now.  There  are  no  evidences  to  show  that  it  was  humid 
in  the  centuries  that  immediately  followed  the  flood,  and 
yet  it  was  near  Ararat  that  the  peopling  of  the  world 
began  for  the  second  time.  It  is  not  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  those  ancient  peoples  lived  entirely  on  animal 
food,  for  many  of  them  were  not  nomads.  If  other  food 
was  used,  it  was  produced  by  the  soil,  and  it  is  prepos- 
terous to  suppose  that  it  was  all  grown  by  irrigation. 

The  antiquity  of  dry  farming. — That  some  of  the 
greatest  nations  of  antiquity  practised  dry  farming  can- 
not now  be  questioned.  That  they  practised  irrigation 
also  cannot  for  one  moment  be  doubted.  That  the  area 
then  that  was  dry  farmed  was  vastly  greater  than  the 
area  that  was  irrigated  was  doubtless  as  true  as  it  is  to- 
day. The  evidence  is  conclusive  that  centuries  long 
before  the  Christian  era  dry  farming  was  not  only 
practised,  but  that  the  existence  of  populous  nations 
depended  upon  crops  grown  mainly  by  dry  farm  methods. 

The  exact  methods  by  which  dry  land  crops  were 
grown  in  the  centuries  of  long  ago  is  a  secret  that  will 
never  be  revealed.  It  lies  entombed  with  the  men  who 
grew  the  crops.  That  the  method  of  growing  them, 
however,  was  essentially  the  same  as  it  is  today  cannot 
be  doubted,  for  crops  cannot  be  grown  in  the  absence  of 
irrigation  in  dry  areas  and  in  the  absence  of  moisture 
conservation,  and  moisture  conservation  cannot  be 
properly  maintained  unless  the  surface  soil  is  frequently 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    25 

stirred  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  In  ancient  days, 
however,  the  work  was  chiefly  done  by  hand  labor,  where- 
as now  it  is  done  by  the  aid  of  suitable  implements  drawn 
by  horses  or  by  other  power. 

Tunis  furnishes  an  excellent  illustration  of  the 
extent  to  which  dry  farming  was  practised  by  some  of  the 
nations  of  the  old  world  long  centuries  ago.  It  was  in 
ancient  Tunis  that  the  mighty  and  populous  cities  of 
Phoenicia  rose  and  fell.  According  to  Widtsoe  the 
average  rainfall  in  Tunis  is  about  9  inches.  In  some  parts, 
however,  it  considerably  exceeds  that  amount.  History 
has  made  it  clear  that  in  the  early  centuries  Tunis  fur- 
nished the  Roman  Empire  with  immense  quantities  of 
wheat  and  olive  oil.  In  the  seventh  century,  Tunis  had 
from  two  to  three  millions  of  olive  trees  in  full  fruitage 
in  the  absence  of  irrigation.  Even  today  the  agriculture 
of  Tunis  is  large  relatively  and  also  in  the  aggregate. 

While  of  course  it  can  never  be  known  fully  where 
dry  farming  was  and  was  not  practised  in  ancient  days, 
the  evidence  is  conclusive  that  it  was  practised  by  many 
peoples.  Both  India  and  China  were  populous  long  cen- 
turies before  the  Christian  era.  In  both  of  these  coun- 
tries there  are  wide  areas  in  which  large  populations 
could  not  have  been  maintained  in  the  absence  of  dry 
farming.  Central  Europe  and  Western  Asia  were  in- 
habited and  numerously  before  the  Christian  era.  These 
areas  are  dry  now  and  there  are  no  good  reasons  for 
believing  that  the  climate  has  materially  changed. 
Portions  of  southeastern  Europe  and  of  Asia  Minor 
were  not  favored  with  an  abundant  rainfall  in  ancient 
days  nor  are  they  now,  and  yet  anterior  to  the  Christian 
era  they  sustained  prosperous  communities.  There  are 
also  good  reasons  for  believing  that  the  Indians  of  Mexico 
practised  dry  farm  methods  in  the  dry  area  of  that  coun- 
try in  the  long-forgotten  centuries. 


26  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Mistaken  views  as  to  its  history. — The  popular  con- 
ception of  dry  farming  with  reference  to  the  time  when 
it  began,  the  place  where  it  originated,  the  area  where  it 
was  first  practised,  and  with  reference  to  its  early  pro- 
moters is  wholly  at  sea.  That  conception  looks  upon  it 
as  something  that  has  orginated  within  years  of  the  recent 
past,  that  it  originated  in  the  western  United  States,  and 
that  it  is,  as  it  were,  a  discovery  for  which  western 
America  is  entitled  to  a  patent.  It  has  also  associated 
with  these  ideas  the  names  of  certain  men  now  living, 
who  are  looked  upon  as  the  discoverers  of  the  system  of 
dry  farming.  It  looks  up  to  them  reverentially  as  being 
the  fathers  of  the  system.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from 
the  truth  than  these  mistaken  conceptions. 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  preceding  paragraph  that 
dry  farming  was  practised  even  before  the  dawn  of 
history.  The  popular  conception  of  it  would  restrict  it 
virtually  to  the  past  decade.  With  reference  to  the 
advanced  methods  observed  in  conducting  it,  this  may 
be  true,  but  the  fact  remains  that  the  great  nations  of 
antiquity,  with  the  exception  of  Egypt,  were  cradled  in 
areas  where  dry  farming  was  much  practised. 

The  popular  conception  of  dry  farming  looks  upon 
the  western  states  of  the  Union  as  the  place  where  it  has 
been  cradled.  It  has  already  been  shown  that  it  was 
practised  by  the  peoples  of  various  nations  even  prior 
to  the  Christian  era.  It  will  also  be  shown  in  succeeding 
paragraphs  that  dry  farming  is  today  practised  in  certain 
extensive  areas  on  each  of  the  continents. 

This  conception  would  confine  it  mainly  to  western 
America,  whereas  in  each  of  the  continents,  including 
Australia,  is  an  area  probably  as  large  as  that  of  the 
United  States  which  must  be  farmed  if  farmed  at  all  by 
the  methods  that  obtain  in  dry  farming.  It  is  at  least 
questionable  if  the  land  that  must  be  farmed  by  the 
dry  farming  plan,  if  farmed  at  all,  does  not  exceed  the 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    27 

area  that  is  farmed  or  that  may  be  farmed  by  the  methods 
that  obtain  where  humid  farming  is  practised. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  apparent  that 
it  will  never  be  known  who  were  the  orginators  of  dry 
farming.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  methods 
followed  orginated  at  least  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
the  various  countries  in  which  they  were  practised.  The 
claim  of  any  one  now  living,  therefore,  to  be  the  origin- 
ator of  dry  farming  methods  is  simply  absurd,  and  the 
acknowledgment  of  that  claim  by  the  public  shows  an 
almost  total  lack  of  knowledge  regarding  the  facts  that 
bear  upon  its  origin. 

Widtsoe  has  made  it  clear  in  his  admirable  book 
"Dry  Farming"  that  dry  farming  as  practised  in  the 
western  states  was  the  evolution  of  an  experience  that 
does  not  in  many  instances  go  back  beyond  the  middle 
of  the  last  century.  He  has  made  it  clear  that  this 
experience  was  gained  independently  and  mainly  in  the 
four  distinct  centers,  Utah,  California,  Washington  and 
the  Great  Plains  country.  Further  reference  will  be 
made  to  this  evolution  (see  p.  35).  The  methods  followed 
in  these  independent  areas  came  to  centre  around  a 
system  that  is  practically  uniform.  This  system  included 
deep  plowing,  perferably  fall  plowing,  conserving  the 
moisture  by  surface  cultivation,  light  seeding  and  devot- 
ing with  more  or  less  frequency  an  entire  season  to  con- 
serving moisture  in  the  soil  without  cropping  it. 

These  misconceptions  have  doubtless  originated 
chiefly  in  the  wide  publicity  given  to  the  dry  farming 
propaganda  that  is  now  being  conducted  with  so  much 
vigor  in  the  states  that  lie  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  For  this  publicity  the  "Dry  Farming  Congress" 
organized  in  1907  is  largely  responsible.  To  the  major 
portion  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  conception 
is  new,  hence  the  conviction  that  the  science  itself  is 
new.  To  this  country,  however,  belongs  the  credit  of 


28  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

greatly  improving  the  system  and  of  reducing  it,  as  it 
were,  to  a  science  and  of  riveting  the  attention  of  the 
outside  world  on  the  merit  that  inheres  in  these  improve- 
ments. 

Dry  farming  in  the  United  States. — Dry  farming  as 
now  practised  in  the  United  Slates  has  been  evolved 
within  the  last  50  years.  That  the  evolution  took  place 
in  various  centres  acting  independently  and  without  inter- 
communication is  accepted  by  those  who  know  the  facts. 
The  chief  centres  of  this  evolution  were  Utah,  California 
and  the  Great  Basin  area,  the  Great  Plains  country,  the 
Mountain  States,  the  Columbia  river  basin,  and  the 
Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  river  basins.  Although  the 
methods  practised  were  largely,  if  riot  entirely,  of  inde- 
pendent development,  they  all  led  to  the  one  great  central 
truth  that  underlies  successful  practise  in  dry  areas,  viz. : 
the  conservation  of  the  moisture  that  falls  to  the  greatest 
extent  that  may  be  practicable. 

It  would  seem  fair  to  concede  that  Utah  led  in  the 
introduction  of  dry  farming.  There  is  evidence  to  show 
that  it  was  practised  to  some  extent  by  the  Mormons 
as  early  as  1855.  In  1863  dry  farming  was  begun  by 
Scandinavians  in  the  vicinity  of  Bear  River  City.  A 
year  or  two  later  Christopher  Layton  began  to  grow 
crops  on  the  Sand  Ridge  between  Ogden  and  Salt  Lake 
City,  a  region  in  which  dry  farm  crops  have  been  grown 
for  many  years.  Simultaneously,  or  a  little  later,  George 
L.  Farrell  introduced  dry  land  farming  into  the  Cache 
valley,  where  it  has  been  practised  with  increasing  success 
down  to  the  present  time.  Gradually  the  work  extended 
through  other  portions  of  Utah,  insomuch  that  dry  land 
farming  is  now  the  chief  slogan  of  the  Utah  farmers. 

For  several  decades  dry  farming  has  been  practised 
with  at  least  fair  success  in  certain  portions  of  California. 
The  chief  centres  of  such  practise  in  former  years  were 
the  valleys  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers,  but 


i 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    29 


now  it  is  practised  more  or  less  in  various  areas  in  the 
state. 

In  the  Great  Basin  country  with  Nevada  as  a  centre 
(see  p.  52),  are  some  areas  where  farming  has  been  prac- 
tised for  more  than  40  years  without  the  aid  of  water. 
The  products  grown  include  grain,  chiefly  wheat,  corn, 
some  of  the  sorghums  and  fruit.  The  rainfall  in  much 
of  this  area  is  very  light,  in  some  places  as  low  or  lower 


RANCH  HOME,  YELLOWSTONE  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

than  10  inches,  hence  the  extension  of  dry  farming  has 
not  been  so  rapid  as  in  areas  that  are  favored  with  greater 
precipitation. 

In  the  Great  Plains  area  which  drains  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  into  the  Mississippi  (see  p.  50),  dry 
farm  crops  have  been  grown  with  more  or  less  success 
from  the  Canadian  boundary  to  Texas,  and  in  some  locali- 


30  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ties  for  more  than  30  years.  In  many  instances,  however, 
they  have  not  been  grown  on  the  dry  land  plan,  and,  as  a 
result,  crop  failure  through  drought  and  hot  winds  has  led 
to  the  temporary  abandonment  of  certain  areas  westward 
in  the  Dakotas,  Nebraska  and  Kansas.  These  areas  are 
now  being  farmed  successfully  by  farmers  who  have 
learned  something  of  the  secret  of  conserving  moisture. 
During  all  the  years  of  failure  there  were  individual 
instances  of  success,  which  makes  it  clear  that  much 
of  the  failure  that  resulted  could  have  been  avoided.  The 
greater  annual  rainfall  in  much  of  this  area  did  not 
emphasize  the  necessity  of  moisture  conservation  as  it 
did  in  other  areas.  It  was  in  this  region  in  1894  that 
H.  W.  Campbell  began  his  work  on  its  present  basis, 
which  he  has  since  denominated  "Scientific  Soil  Culture." 

In  the  Inter-mountain  states  with  Wyoming  as  a 
centre,  dry  farming  has  been  successfully  practised  by 
individuals,  but  until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  it 
was  confined  to  limited  areas.  But  there  are  isolated 
instances  in  which  it  has  been  practised  for  two  to  three 
decades. 

In  the  Columbia  river  basin  which  has  its  centre  in 
Washington  (see  p.  51),  wheat  has  been  grown  success- 
fully for  many  years  and  also  many  other  crops.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Walla  Walla  it  has  been  grown  for 
more  than  a  generation  and  with  practically  undiminished 
yields.  There  is  an  immense  area  in  this  region  which 
has  become  famous  for  growing  wheat  although  the  rain- 
fall is  very  light. 

In  the  Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  river  basins  (see 
p.  52),  crops  have  been  grown  for  many  years  in  limited 
areas  on  the  dry  land  plan.  In  New  Mexico  especially 
are  groups  of  farmers  who  have  farmed  thus  for  a  num- 
ber of  years. 

In  the  face  of  these  facts,  it  is  incredible  that  any  one 
man  could  have  been  chiefly  responsible  for  introducing 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    31 

this  system  into  so  many  independent  centres.  It  is  true, 
nevertheless,  that  the  drought  that  so  generally  prevailed 
during  1893-95,  and  especially  in  1894,  resulted  in  im- 
pressing upon  the  minds  of  western  farmers,  as  never  be- 
fore, the  absolute  need  of  observing  carefully  the  princi- 
ples that  must  obtain  where  moisture  is  to  be  preserved. 
Those  principles  were  largely  evolved  in  those  several 
communities  from  the  chaos  of  repeated  mistakes  in 
farming  the  land. 

Dry  farming  in  Europe. — In  western  Europe,  the 
precipitation  is  so  great  as  to  preclude  the  necessity  for 
dry  farming  methods.  In  eastern  Europe  crops  cannot 
be  successfully  grown  by  any  other  system.  The  same  is 
true  of  certain  portions  of  central  and  southern  Europe. 

The  semi-arid  portion  of  eastern  Europe  is  practically 
confined  to  Russia.  The  area  in  which  the  precipitation 
is  low  is  very  large,  not  less,  probably,  than  one-fourth  of 
the  entire  country.  In  the  southeastern  portion  the 
shortage  is  most  marked.  That  part  of  Russia  bears  con- 
siderable resemblance  to  the  Great  Plains  country  in  the 
United  States.  Dry  farming  methods  have  been  more  or 
less  practised  in  Russia  for  many  years,  but  the  practise 
of  these  has  been  crude  and  imperfect.  Recently,  how- 
ever, the  government  is  introducing  more  advanced 
methods.. 

The  areas  of  central  Europe  that  call  for  dry  farming 
are  not  nearly  so  extensive,  nor  is  the  shortage  in  the 
precipitation  so  great.  One  of  the  driest  areas  is  found 
in  certain  portions  of.  the  Austrain  Empire  and  the  states 
that  are  adjacent  thereto,  more  especially  on  the  eastern 
border. 

In  some  parts  of  southern  Europe  the  normal  rain- 
fall is  much  less  than  could  be  desired.  Because  of  this, 
irrigation  is  practised  in  various  places  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean countries  where  water  is  attainable.  Where 


32  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

* 

it  is  not,  there  is  much  room  for  the  practise  of  dry  farm- 
ing methods. 

Dry  farming  in  Asia. — In  very  large  areas  in  Asia 
the  annual  precipitation  is  very  light,  hence  crops,  if 
grown  at  all,  must  be  grown  by  dry  farming  methods  in 
the  absence  of  irrigation.  These  areas  are  found  both 
north  and  south  of  the  Himalaya  mountains,  and  also  in 
the  southwestern  provinces. 

North  of  the  Himalaya  mountains  are  vast  areas  of 
semi-arid  country,  and  considerable  areas  that  are  arid. 
The  extent  of  these  is  not  accurately  known.  The  rain- 
fall is  very  light,  hence  only  such  plants  can  be  grown 
as  are  markedly  drought-resistant.  It  is  in  this  region 
that  some  of  the  hardiest  of  the  alfalfa  crops  are  found. 

Large  areas  in  India  and  China  have  a  long  season 
during  which  rain  does  not  fall.  In  some  of  these,  the 
precipitation  at  the  usual  season  is  plentiful,  in  others 
it  is  not  copious.  In  either  case,  the  necessity  for 
practising  dry  farm  methods  is  always  present  and  in 
the  latter  instances  it  is  imperatively  necessary.  In  China 
especially,  dry  farming  is  of  great  antiquity,  but  even 
now  the  methods  practised  are  crude. 

In  southwestern  Asia  there  are  very  large  areas 
that  are  semi-arid.  This  applies  to  all  or  nearly  all 
of  Asia  Minor,  Palestine  and  Arabia.  Much  of  the 
latter  country  is  positively  arid.  In  all  of  these  there  is 
great  room  for  the  practise  of  dry  farming.  The  areas 
that  can  be  tilled  by  the  ordinary  methods  in  the  absence 
of  irrigation  are  very  limited,  and  especially  in  Arabia 
are  extensive  areas  that  are  positively  and  in  many  in- 
stances hopelessly  arid. 

Dry  farming  in  Africa. — Dry  farming  has  been  prac- 
tised in  certain  parts  of  Africa  from  the  remotest  times. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  the  states  of  northern  Africa 
which  border  upon  the  Mediterranean,  but  it  is  also  true 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    33 

of  south  Africa  and  of  other  areas  in  the  same  dark  con- 
tinent. 

The  Mediterranean  states  are  Morocco,  Algiers, 
Tunis,  Tripoli  and  Egypt.  In  Egypt  rain  is  practically 
unknown.  In  the  other  states  the  rainfall  is  very  light. 
In  some  parts  of  Tunis  it  is  frequently  below  10  inches, 
and  yet  in  that  country  much  attention  is  given  to  the 
growth  of  agricultural  products,  especially  the  production 
of  wheat  and  olive  oil.  Notwithstanding  the  dry  char- 
acter of  the  climate  in  these  states,  they  support  a  rela- 
tively high  population. 

In  south  Africa,  especially  in  the  Transvaal  country, 
much  attention  is  beginning  to  be  given  to  dry  farming 
methods.  The  rainfall  in  much  of  the  Transvaal  is  below 
20  inches,  hence,  the  necessity  for  practising  these  meth- 
ods. McDonald  has  done  and  is  doing  much  for  the  ex- 
tension of  dry  farming  in  this  part  of  Africa.  In  other 
areas  of  Africa  and  in  various  parts  of  the  continent, 
the  necessity  for  growing  crops  by  these  methods  is  im- 
perative. It  is  from  the  dry  regions  of  Africa  that  some 
of  the  most  drought-resistant  crops  have  been  obtained, 
especially  Milo  maize  and  Kafir  corn. 

Dry  farming  in  other  areas.— In  many  other  areas 
dry  farming  has  been  practised — in  some  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  period,  in  some  instances  for  centuries.  These  in- 
clude portions  of  the  Canadian  west,  of  Mexico  and  of 
the  Central  American  states  on  this  continent,  and  very 
large  areas  in  South  America  and  Australia. 

In  certain  portions  of  the  Canadian  west,  especially 
in  southern  Alberta  and  southern  Saskatchewan,  dry  farm 
methods  have  been  practised  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury and  with  much  success.  Notably  is  this  true  of  the 
work  done  by  Mr.  Angus  Mackay,  the  efficient  superin- 
tendent of  the  experiment  farm  at  Indian  Head,  Sask.  No 
other  station  or  farm  in  all  the  west  has  furnished  a 
record  for  so  long  and  continuous  a  period  of  the  results 


34  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

obtained  from  dry  farming.  The  alternate  fallow  and 
crop  system  has  been  practised  at  that  station  since 
1888  (see  p.  392). 

It  was  in  southern  Alberta  that  the  growing  of  hard 
winter  wheat  under  dry  conditions  was  first  introduced 
into  western  Canada.  Not  greatly  distant  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  certain  individuals  have  grown  it  there  suc- 
cessfully for  two  to  three  decades. 

Dry  farming  has  been  practised  in  certain  portions 
of  Mexico  for  centuries.  When  first  visited  by  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Catholic  church  certain  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  especially  those  inland  and  in  northern  Mexico, 
practised  dry  farming.  The  methods  then  followed  had 
evidently  been  practised  during  preceding  centuries.  It 
is  the  only  method  by  which  a  large  part  of  Mexico  yet 
untilled  can  be  reclaimed.  The  same  may  be  said  of  cer- 
tain portions  of  the  Central  American  states. 

In  South  America  dry  farming  is  now  being  practised 
both  east  and  west  of  the  Andes,  and  in  states  far  to  the 
southward.  In  Brazil  especially,  dry  farming  promises 
to  be  an  important  factor  in  the  building  up  of  that  re- 
public, which  has  a  very  large  amount  of  arid  and  semi- 
arid  land.  The  annual  precipitation  in  much  of  this  area 
is  fairly  liberal,  but  because  of  the  heat,  the  loss  of  soil 
moisture  unhindered  in  its  movements,  is  equally  large. 
Long  centuries  ago  the  inhabitants  of  Peru  grew  crops 
by  dry  farming  methods,  and  the  same  is  true  of  Chile 
and  other  states  southward  in  the  continent. 

Very  large  areas  of  Australia  are  now  coming  to  be 
worked  on  the  dry  farming  plan.  Two-thirds  of  this  vast 
area  has  a  rainfall  of  less  than  20  inches,  and  much  of  the 
country  lies  under  a  tropical  sun.  In  many  sections  the 
rainfall  is  less  than  10  inches  annually.  To  no  one  of  the 
continents,  therefore,  are  dry  farming  methods  of  so  much 
importance.  The  dry  farming  propaganda  is  being  vig- 
orously pushed  in  many  parts  of  the  country  and  the 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    35 

promise  of  results  that  will  be  greatly  significant  in  the 
future  is  encouraging. 

The  promoters  of  dry  farming. — That  dry  farming  as 
now  practised  is  comparatively  recent  in  its  origin  will 
be  apparent  from  what  has  already  been  said.  That  it  is 
the  outcome  of  the  efforts  of  individuals  in  various  states 
laboring  simultaneously  and  in  a  tentative  way  has  been 
shown.  That  these  efforts  all  led  to  the  one  conclusion 
viz.,  that  the  keystone  to  successful  dry  farming  is  the 
proper  conservation  of  soil  moisture,  has  been  made  clear 
and  in  consequence  no  one  individual  can  arrogate  to 
himself  the  honor  of  having  introduced  this  system  by 
which  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  are  to  be 
turned  into  a  garden  of  productiveness. 

The  efforts  of  those  individual  workers,  however, 
would  never  in  themselves  have  given  dry  farming  the 
status  that  it  has  today.  Organized  effort  was  necessary 
to  rivet  the  attention  of  the  world  upon  the  importance 
of  the  dry  farming  movement.  This  came  with  the  or- 
ganization of  the  dry  farming  congress.  Men  who  were 
interested  in  the  sale  of  lands  in  dry  areas  are  to  be 
credited  in  large  measure  with  the  launching  of  this 
movement  which  is  destined  to  lead  to  material  results 
such  as  are  without  parallel  in  the  world  at  the  present 
time.  This  is  owing  to  the  immensity  of  the  area  that 
will  be  affected  by  this  movement. 

The  first  dry  farming  congress  was  held  at  Denver, 
Col.,  Jan.  24-26,  1907;  the  second  at- Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  Jan.  22-25,  1908,  and  the  third  at  Cheyenne,  Wyo., 
Feb.  23-25,  1909.  At  this  Cheyenne  congress  foreign 
delegates  were  in  attendance  from  Canada  and  the  Trans- 
vaal, Australia  and  Russia  and  Brazil.  It  was  decided  at 
this  congress  that  the  time  for  convening  should  be 
changed  from  early  winter  to  the  autumn,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  this  decision,  the  next  congress  convened  at 
Billings,  Mont.,  in  October  of  the  same  year.  The 


36  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

fifth  congress  was  held  at  Spokane,  Wash.,  in  October, 
1910.  At  the  meeting  held  in  Utah,  an  exhibit  of  dry 
land  products  was  made.  This  feature  has  been  main- 
tained at  all  the  annual  meetings  of  the  congress  that 
have  since  been  held.  The  attendance  at  these  meetings 
has  been  increasingly  large,  and  the  interest  taken  in 
them  will  be  understood  from  the  leading  part  taken  in 
them  by  the  governors  of  the  various  states  in  which 
they  have  been  held. 

The  congress  is  fortunate  in  its  secretary,  Mr.  John 
T.  Burns,  whose  excellent  management  of  the  affairs  of 
the  congress  has  done  much  to  bring  it  before  the  various 
nations  of  the  world.  The  stimulus  which  this  congress 
is  giving  to  the  dry  farming  movement  in  many  lands 
cannot  easily  be  measured.  In  several  of  the  dry  farming 
states,  auxiliary  branches  of  the  congress  have  been  or- 
ganized. Utah  led  in  these. organizations,  the  first  auxil- 
iary having  been  established  in  that  state  in  1907. 

The  movement  thus  inaugurated  by  the  dry  farming 
congress  has  been  given  much  aid  by  the  public  press, 
by  certain  of  the  railroads,  by  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  and  by  some  of  the  experiment  sta- 
tions. 

The  press,  and  especially  the  agricultural  press,  has 
given  wide  publicity  to  the  work  of  the  dry  farming  con- 
gress from  its  first  inception.  It  is  now  giving  much 
publicity  to  dry  farming  methods,  especially  that  por- 
tion of  it  located  in  the  west.  The  dry  farming  congress 
has  its  official  organ,  and  periodicals  are  now  being  in- 
troduced devoted  entirely  to  the  discussion  of  dry  farm 
problems. 

During  recent  years  certain  of  the  railroads  have  en- 
couraged demonstration  work  along  their  several  lines 
/  in  the  semi-arid  country.  This  work  had  for  its  object: 
(1)  to  show  conclusively  that  dry  land  crops  could  be 
successfully  and  profitably  grown.  That  this  was  pos- 

I 


I 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    37 

sible  was  stoutly  denied  by  all  or  nearly  all  who  were  en- 
gaged in  ranching  in  the  several  dry  land  states,  and 
they  based  this  denial  on  the  ground  that  they  had  failed 
in  their  efforts  to  grow  crops.  In  taking  this  stand  they 
have  only  proclaimed  to  the  world  and  for  all  time  their 
ignorance  of  the  principles  that  underlie  successful  dry 
farming.  (2)  To  ascertain  which  crops  could  be  grown 
the  most  successfully  and  profitably,  and  (3)  to  demon- 
strate the  best  methods  of  growing  them. 

The  Northern  Pacific  railroad  was  one  of  the  first 
to  enter  this  field.  In  co-operation  with  the  state  of  Mon- 
tana, it  sustained  demonstration  work  in  various  parts 
of  the  state  from  1906  to  1910.  The  Rock  Island  and  the 
Milwaukee  railroads  and  also  certain  lines  of  the  Harri- 
man  system  have  during  recent  years  been  giving  more 
or  less  aid  to  the  encouragement  of  this  work. 

The  work  in  this  line,  however,  inaugurated  by  the 
Great  Northern  railroad  in  the  spring  of  1910,  is  the 
most  extensive  work  of  the  kind  ever  undertaken  by  any 
one  railroad  system.  Forty-five  demonstration  stations, 
were  conducted  by  this  road  in  1910,  and  42  in  1911,  near- 
ly all  of  them  being  located  along  the  various  lines  of 
the  road  in  Montana.  In  1911  the  work  was  carried  into 
North  Dakota.  These  stations  embrace  from  6  to  100 
acres,  nearly  all  of  them  being  of  the  former  size.  The 
railroad  gave  the  farmer  the  seed,  the  crop  *when  grown 
and  $10.00  for  working  each  of  the  6  acres  of  his  own 
land.  The  work,  however,  was  to  be  done  according  to 
instructions  given  by  a  representative  of  the  Great  Nor- 
thern road. 

Three  men  were  thus  constantly  employed  during 
the  entire  growing  season.  The  Northern  Pacific  railroad 
also  established  work  of  this  character  in  southeastern 
North  Dakota  in  the  spring  of  1911. 

The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  has 
shown  much  if  not  undue  caution  in  instituting  investi- 


38  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

gations  pertaining  to  the  growing  of  crops  in  the  arid 
and  semi-arid  west.  Because  of  this,  experiments  con- 
ducted by  individuals  in  several  of  the  states  where  dry 
conditions  prevail  were  much  in  advance  of  those  insti- 
tuted by  the  department  during  recent  years.  This  ex- 
treme caution  may  have  been  based  on  the  fear  that  home- 
steaders might  thus  be  encouraged  to  locate  in  areas 
where  they  would  find  it  very  difficult  to  build  and  main- 
tain homes.  About  the  first  work  undertaken  by  the 
department  with  a  view  to  aid  in  the  development  of  the 
agriculture  of  this  region  was  the  search  in  other  coun- 
tries for  plants  that  were  markedly  drought-resistant, 
with  a  view  to  their  introduction  in  this  area.  The  Bu- 
reaus of  Plant  Industry,  Chemistry,  Soils  and  Weather 
have  also  rendered  substantial  service.  It  was  not  un- 
til 1905  that  a  head  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of 
dry  land  investigations.  An  office  for  this  department 
is  now  maintained  under  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry. 
During  recent  years  a  large  number  of  stations  have 
been  established  by  the  department  in  those  areas  for 
conducting  investigations  pertaining  to  dry  land  prob- 
lems. Some  of  these  are  conducted  in  co-operation  with 
the  experiment  stations. 

Definite  experiments  with  a  view  to  the  study  of 
questions  pertaining  to  the  agriculture  of  dry  areas  in 
the  United  States  were  inaugurated  by  the  Colorado 
Legislature.  In  1893  it  authorized  the  establishment  of 
an  experiment  station  at  Cheyenne  Wells.  This  action, 
however,  was  five  years  later  than  the  establishment  of 
the  Canadian  station  at  Indian  Head  in  1888. 

Dry  farming  experiments  by  the  Utah  state  station 
were  begun  in  1901.  This  state  is  the  pioneer  in  sys- 
tematic experimental  work  conducted  on  an  extensive 
scale.  Among  the  other  states  that  have  done  excellent 
work  in  the  study  of  dry  land  questions  in  an  experimen- 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    39 

tal  way  since  1901  are  Montana,  North  Dakota,  Wyom- 
ing, Nebraska,  Colorado  and  New  Mexico. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  very  evident  that  no 
man  can  justly  claim  to  be  the  originator  of  dry  farming 
as  now  practised  on  the  American  continent.  This 
claim  has  been  virtually  made  for  H.  W.  Campbell,  now 
of  Lincoln,  Neb.,  and  it  has  received  the  endorsement  of 
an  uninformed  public  both  in  this  country  and  abroad. 
The  facts  that  bear  upon  this  question  show  that  the 
claim  is  groundless.  It  is  not  only  true  that  the  Campbell 
system  did  not  shape  the  method  of  dry  farming  as  now 
generally  advocated  and  practised,  but  it  is  also  true 
that  it  is  essentially  based  on  the  said  practise  and  is 
in  its  main  features  the  outcome  of  the  same,  as  will 
now  be  shown. 

The  Campbell  system  as  outlined  by  its  author  in 
his  book  "Soil  Culture  Manual"  is,  in  its  essentials,  as 
follows:  (1)  To  grow  crops  successfully  in  dry  years 
it  is  necessary  that  water  shall  be  stored  in  the  soil  by 
proper  tillage.  (2)  Such  tillage  includes  discing  the  land 
as  soon  as  the  crop  has  been  removed,  following  with 
the  plow  sooner  or  later  thereafter,  using  the  subsur- 
face packer  after  the  plow  and  the  harrow  after  the  sub- 
surface packer,  and  maintaining  a  dust  mulch  on  summer- 
fallow  land.  (3)  Sowing  grain  thinly  and  if  too  thick 
harrowing  some  of  it  out.  This  practise  is  founded  on  the 
fundamental  principle  that  in  dry  areas  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  retain  by  tillage  as  far  as  this  may  be  prac- 
ticable the  moisture  that  falls,  if  crops  are  to  be  grown 
with  success.  As  has  been  shown,  this  principle  was  rec^j 
ognized  and  acted  upon  by  farmers  in  Utah,  in  some  in- 
stances at  least  two  decades  before  the  Campbell  system  I 
as  now  practised  was  evolved.  This  system,  however,; 
laid  more  stress  on  discing  unplowed  land  and  the  sub-j 
surface  packing  of  plowed  land  than  had  been  previously 
accorded  to  those  practises. 


40  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  weak  points  in  the  Campbell  system  include  the 
following:  (1)  The  insistence  on  discing  land  and  fol- 
lowing with  the  plow  under  all  soil  conditions.  (2)  The 
insistence  on  the  use  of  the  subsurface  packer  after  the 
plow,  without  regard  to  the  character  of  the  soil.  (3) 
The  absence  of  any  provision  for  the  maintenance  or 
renewal  of  fertility  and  humus  in  the  soil.  Moreover,  in 
practise  it  is  difficult  to  carry  out  certain  of  the  methods 
recommended,  as  for  instance  always  discing  stubble  be- 
fore plowing  and  plowing  summer-fallow  in  August, 
because  of  the  season  at  which  such  work  must  be  done. 

The  Campbell  system  is  not  what  it  was  at  the 
first.  It  began  by  sowing  grain  in  rows  in  the  early 
spring,  far  enough  apart  to  admit  of  cultivation.  This 
was  abandoned  because  it  was  too  costly.  Even  as  re- 
cently as  1896  the  farm  paper  which  Mr.  Campbell  edited 
makes  no  mention  of  summer  tillage  when  giving  what  is 
avowedly  a  full  statement  of  the  system.  He  admits 
that  it  was  not  until  1891  that  he  became  positive  that 
he  could  secure  good  crops  under  droughty  conditions, 
and  that  the  first  victory  of  the  Campbell  method  was 
won  in  1894  in  Brown  county  in  South  Dakota,  when  142 
bushels  of  potatoes  per  acre  were  grown  in  a  very  dry 
year.  It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  Mr.  Campbell 
conducted  his  experiments  near  the  eastern  border  of  the 
semi-arid  belt,  where  the  more  severe  drought  conditions 
do  not  prevail  to  the  same  extent  as  they  do  farther 
to  the  west.  It  is  true,  nevertheless,  that  Mr.  Campbell 
has  done  much  to  rivet  the  attention  of  the  public  on  the 
important  place  that  must  be  assigned  to  dry  farming 
in  the  agriculture  of  the  future,  by  the  persistency  of  his 
advocacy.  For  this  he  should  be  given  the  full  measure 
of  the  credit  which  is  his  due. 

The  future  of  dry  farming. — From  what  has  been  said 
'it  will  be  apparent  that  dry  farming  in  the  future  will 
hold  a  wide  place  in  the  world's  industries.  It  will  be 


THE  ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  DRY  FARMING    41 

the  outstanding  material  interest  of  the  immediate  future. 
Although  the  exact  facts  are  not  fully  attainable  at  the 
present  time,  it  seems  correct  to  say  that  more  than  half 
of  the  tillable  area  in  the  world  can  be  made  to  produce 
crops  only  by  resorting  to  dry  land  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion. In  the  contemplation  of  this  fact  will  be  seen  the 
momentous  significance  of  a  proper  understanding  of  the 
principles  of  tillage  which  alone,  when  properly  applied, 
will  enable  those  who  apply  them  to  obtain  maximum  re- 
sults from  the  lands  which  they  till. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  principles  which  underlie 
successful  tillage  are  so  little  understood  by  so  large  a 
percentage  of  those  who  live  in  dry  areas,  and  that  they 
are  so  seldom  applied  in  a  hearty  and  thorough  fashion^ 
Many  of  the  newer  settlers  have  come  from  humid  cli- 
mates. It  seems  preposterous  to  them,  at  the  outset,  that 
they  should  put  so  much  labor  on  land  in  order  to  in- 
sure a  crop,  nor  do  they  take  kindly  to  the  idea  of  not 
trying  to  grow  a  crop  every  season.  The  disposition  that 
inheres  in  the  average  man  to  reach  out  largely  in  the 
line  of  acquisition  is  tempted  in  dry  areas  as  in  few  other 
places,  by  the  ease  with  which  large  holdings  may  be  ob- 
tained. The  further  disposition  that  leads  so  many  to 
gamble,  as  it  were,  for  large  results  in  the  imperfect 
tillage  which  is  given  to  large  areas,  oftentimes  leads  to 
crop  failure.  It  is  seldom  that  the  average  farmer  will 
practise  dry  farming  methods  as  he  ought  to,  until  he 
has  felt  the  stiff  jolt  which  extensive  crop  failure  brings 
to  him.  Half-way  measures  in  tilling  the  soil  in  dry  areas 
will  never  prove  successful  save  in  exceptional  seasons. 

Evolution,  however,  in  this  as  in  other  things,  must 
be  gradual.  It  is  comforting  to  know  that  it  has  begun. 
There  is  satisfaction  in  the  thought  that  the  possibility 
of  farming  much  of  the  dry  area  in  the  west  is  no  longer 
in  doubt.  Only  a  few  years  since,  a  U.  S.  Senator  from 
one  of  the  dry  land  states  expressed  doubt  as  to  whether  a 


42  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

homesteader  could  successfully  start  a  farm  on  the  dry 
lands  of  the  west.  This  doubt  was  expressed  at  one  of 
the  meetings  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  Dry  Farming  Con- 
gress. The  live  stock  ranchers  were  a  unit  in  saying  that 
it  could  not  be  done.  Those  doubts  have  been  given  their 
answer  in  the  fact  that  it  is  being  done,  and  in  all  the 
semi-arid  states. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING 

This  chapter  will  consider  more  particularly  the  do- 
main for  dry  farming  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
The  domain  for  the  same,  including  all  the  continents, 
is  very  wide.  Taking  into  consideration  only  the  tillable 
portions  of  the  earth's  surface,  it  would  seem  safe  to  say 
that  more  than  half  the  area,  if  farmed  at  all,  must  be 
farmed  on  the  principles  that  underlie  successful  dry  land 
farming.  In  the  United  States  and  Canada,  it  is  not 
possible  to  determine  with  absolute  precision  at  the  pres- 
ent time  the  relative  or  even  the  absolute  proportion  of 
the  tillable  area  that  must  be  farmed,  if  farmed  at  all,  on 
the  methods  that  lead  to  success  as  practised  in  what  are 
usually  termed  dry  land  areas.  It  would  be  safe  to  say, 
however,  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  tillable,  area  in  the 
United  States  must  be  thus  farmed,  if  farmed  at  all,  and 
the  same  is  true  of  certain  areas  in  western  Canada. 
But  in  portions  of  western  Canada  in  which  trees  grow  in 
clumps  in  the  depressions,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted 
that  the  annual  precipitation  is  higher  than  in  areas  far- 
ther south,  or  the  trees  would  not  be  in  evidence.  Where- 
ever  nature  sustains  such  a  vegetation,  even  in  the  de- 
pressions, the  ability  of  the  soil  and  climate  to  grow  good 
crops  need  not  be  questioned. 

Influences  that  bear  upon  dry  farming. — In  chap- 
ter I  these  influences  are  discussed  to  some  extent  when 
explaining  the  causes  of  aridity  (see  p.  14).  They  are 
enlarged  upon  here.  The  influences  that  bear  upon  dry 
farming  include:  (1)  the  amount. of  the  precipitation;  (2) 
the  time  at  which  the  precipitation  falls ;  (3)  the  character 
of  the  evaporation ;  (4)  the  temperature  that  is  normally 
present,  and  (5)  the  character  of  the  soil.  The  fact  should 
never  be  overlooked  when  sitting  in  judgment  on  areas 


44  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

that  may  or  may  not  be  farmed  on  the  dry  farming  plan, 
that  each  of  the  factors  named  exercises  an  important 
influence  on  production.  But  it  must  be  conceded,  never- 
theless, that  the  actual  amount  of  the  normal  precipita- 
tion is  the  most  potent  influence  in  production  in  dry 
areas.  Where  the  precipitation  is  below  a  certain 
amount,  dry  farming  cannot  be  practised,  though  all  the 
other  considerations  mentioned  should  be  satisfactorily 
present. 

The  precipitation  that  will  grow  a  good  crop  of  grain 
depends:  (1)  on  the  preparation  that  has  been  given  to 
the  land ;  (2)  on  the  season  at  which  the  precipitation  falls 
as  well  as  on  the  amount  of  the  same ;  (3)  on  the  extent 
of  the  evaporation ;  (4)  on  the  temperature,  and  (5)  on  the 
soil.  Of  these  influences  the  preparation  that  has  been 
given  to  the  land  is  the  most  important.  If  moisture 
has  not  been  properly  stored  in  the  soil  and  subsoil,  and 
a  dry  season  follows,  the  favorable  influence  that  may 
be  exerted  by  all  the  other  agencies  combined  will  not 
insure  a  crop  even  under  semi-arid  conditions.  Much  less 
will  these  insure  the  same  under  arid  conditions.  It  is 
very  evident,  therefore,  that  the  amount  of  the  precipi- 
tation alone  does  not  determine  the  capacity  of  the  land 
to  grow  crops  in  these  areas. 

It  is  also  evident  that  the  amount  of  precipitation 
that  will  suffice  to  grow  a  crop  in  one  locality  may  not 
grow  the  same  in  another.  Without  knowing  all  the  at- 
tendant conditions  it  is  not  possible  to  determine  the 
amount  of  precipitation  that  will  suffice  to  grow  a  good 
crop.  It  would  seem  safe  to  say,  however,  that  on  the 
parallel  45  north  latitude  a  good  crop  of  wheat  may  be 
grown  on  an  annual  precipitation  of  6  to  8  inches  on  care- 
fully summer-fallowed  land,  providing  it  has  been  sum- 
mer-fallowed for  one  year.  On  an  annual  precipitation 
of,  say,  12  to  15  inches,  good  crops  of  certain  kinds  of 
grain  may  be  assured  on  properly  summer-fallowed  land. 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING  45 

With  an  annual  rainfall  of  15  to  18  inches,  it  is  practic- 
able to  get  two  grain  crops  in  three  years.  With  a  rain- 
fall of  20  inches  it  is  practicable  to  secure  good  crops 
every  year  from  a  properly  adjusted  rotation,  on  the 
assumption  that  a  cultivated  crop  is  one  of  the  factors  of 
the  same.  In  the  southern  portions  of  the  dry  belt  con- 
siderably more  precipitation  would  be  called  for  to  secure 
these  results,  because  of  the  higher  evaporation. 

The  time  at  which  the  precipitation  falls  has  an  im- 
portant bearing  on  the  crops  that  may  be  grown.  In  the 
Plains  region  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  precipitation  comes 
during  the  period  of  greatest  growth.  This  means  that 
the  adaptation  for  spring  cereals  is  relatively  high.  It 
also  favors  the  successful  maturing  of  winter  grains 
where  these  have  come  through  the  winter  successfully 
In  these  areas,  however,  there  may  be  difficulty  in  start- 
ing winter  grains  because  of  the  lack  of  moisture.  But 
since  in  this  area  the  rains  almost  practically  cease  with 
July,  it  is  important  that  the  spring  crops  grown  shall 
be  of  such  species  -and  varieties  as  mature  early.  In 
much  of  the  Inter-mountain  area  the  precipitation  comes 
mainly  in  the  late  autumn  and  early  spring  months.  The 
same  is  true  of  much  of  the  Great  Basin  country.  Be- 
cause of  this  the  adaptation  is  highest  for  autumn-sown 
grains,  as  these  mature  early  and  before  the  drought 
and  greatest  heat  of  summer  is  ushered  in.  They  also 
get  the  full  benefit  of  the  winter  rains.  In  areas  where 
the  highest  precipitation  occurs  in  the  summer  and  au- 
tumn months,  as  in  Oklahoma,  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  it 
will  be  in  order  to  grow  late  maturing  cereals  and  such 
crops  as  corn  and  the  sorghums. 

The  influence  exercised  on  crop  production  by  evapo- 
ration is  very  material.  It  increases  (1)  with  increase  in 
the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere ;  (2)  increase  in  the  sum- 
mer heat;  (3)  increase  in  the  dryness  and  velocity  of  the 
winds,  and  (4)  with  decrease  in  the  humidity.  It  de- 


46  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

creases  (1)  with  an  ascending  latitude,  and  (2)  with  in- 
crease in  the  elevation.  It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that 
the  evaporation  will  be  much  greater  in  warm  latitudes 
and  depressed  elevations  because  of  the  greater  heat,  than 
in  elevations  the  opposite,  and  that  it  will  be  much 
greater  in  areas  not  tempered  with  humidity  from  the 
ocean  than  in  areas  so  tempered.  Where  winds  are  con- 
stant, and  the  movement  of  the  same  is  relatively  high, 
evaporation  will  be  proportionately  increased.  Such  a 
condition  occurs  in  certain  portions  of  the  Great  Plains 
area.  The  influences  named,  in  conjunction  with  vari- 
ations in  the  precipitation,  increase  greatly  the  diffi- 
culty of  formulating  definite  rules  for  the  tillage  of  areas 
with  practically  the  same  average  precipitation.  The 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  found  as  the  result  of  three 
years  test  at  Dickinson,  N.  D.,  ending  with  1909,  that  the 
average  annual  evaporation  from  a  water  surface  was 
31.4  inches,  whereas  from  a  two  years  test  at  Fallen, 
Neb.,  it  was  51  inches.  It  is  very  evident,  therefore,  that 
a  certain  amount  of  rainfall  at  Dickinson  will  be  more 
helpful  to  growing  crops  than  a  similar  precipitation  at 
Fallon,  other  things  being,  generally  speaking,  equal. 
It  has  been  estimated  that  where  the  evaporation  is  45 
inches  and  where  the  summer  rainfall  is  18  inches,  the 
larger  portion  of  it  falling  in  the  summer,  about  one-half 
of  it  may  be  saved  to  the  crops. 

The  normal  temperature  in  dry  areas  greatly  influ- 
ences not  only  the  crops  that  may  be  grown  but  the  yields 
of  the  same.  The  temperature  is,  of  course,  influenced 
much  by  the  elevation  and  by  distance  from  the  ocean. 
Naturally,  increase  in  the  elevation  lowers  the  mean  tem- 
perature, and  increasing  distance  from  the  ocean  results 
in  still  greater  contrast  between  the  degree  of  the  heat 
of  the  days,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  nights.  In  much 
of  the  dry  area,  the  nights  are  relatively  cool,  and  this 
is  greatly  favorable  to  increasing  plumpness  of  the  grain 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING  47 

in  process  of  filling.  In  the  higher  elevations,  and 
especially  in  "proximity  to  the  mountains,  summer  frosts 
do  more  or  less  harm,  but  the  injury  that  would  other- 
wise result  is  much  neutralized  by  the  dryness  of  the 
atmosphere.  Hail  also  is  to  be  reckoned  with,  but  usu- 
ally the  area  covered  by  hailstorms  is  not  very  exten- 
sive. Certain  quick  growing  grain  crops  may  be  matured 
in  the  latitude  of  Denver,  Col.,  at  an  altitude  of  fully 
7,000  feet. 

The  influence  of  soils  is  also  marked  on  production 
and  on  the  relative  amounts  of  rainfall  called  for  to  make 
production  safe.  For  the  further  discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion see  chapter  IV.  From  what  has  been  said,  it  will 
be  abundantly  apparent  that  the  adaptation  of  the  various 
areas  of  the  semi-arid  country  for  the  growing  of  crops 
cannot  by  any  means  be  judged  of  correctly  on  the  basis 
of  the  amount  of  the  precipitation  alone. 

Arid  and  semi-arid  America. — The  area  comprised  as 
arid  and  semi-arid  in  the  United  States  is  not  easily  de- 
fined owing  to  the  great  variation  in  the  conditions  that 
lead  to  aridity  or  the  opposite  in  the  various  states  of  the 
west.  For  instance,  the  rainfall  in  certain  areas  of  a  state 
usually  considered  arid  may  be  such  as  to  make  these 
areas  come  within  the  sub-humid  class.  In  those  por- 
tions of  Colorado  where  the  normal  annual  rainfall  runs 
between  15  and  20  inches,  is  Gunnison  county,  where  an 
annual  precipitation  of  50  inches  is  reported.  These 
marked  variations  may  be  found  in  all  or  nearly  all  of 
the  arid  and  semi-arid  states.  They  are  caused  in  part  at 
least  by  a  difference  in  the  elevation.  The  cooling  of 
the  moisture-laden  air  through  expansion  as  it  rises  over 
a  range  of  hills  or  mountains  leads  to  precipitation.  This 
explains  in  part  at  least  why  the  precipitation  is  so  much 
greater  west  than  east  of  the  'Cascades.  But  this  is  not 
the  sole  explanation  of  the  difference  in  the  precipita- 
tion, as  marked  differences  occur  in  the  normal  rainfall 


48  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

of  various  localities  in  the  Great  Plains  area  in  the  almost 
entire  absence  of  elevations  of  any  great  prominence. 
For  instance,  the  normal  precipitation  at  Chester,  Mont., 
would  appear  to  be  considerably  less  than  that  of  areas  to 
the  east  and  west. 

Speaking  in  a  general  way,  it  would  be  correct  to 
say  that  the  semi-arid  and  arid  regions  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada  lie  between  the  meridians  of  100  and 
120  west  longitude  and  between  the  parallels  of  51  to 
53  and  30  respectively  north  latitude.  This  immense 
area  comprises  approximately  1,400,000,000  acres. 

The  line  which  bounds  the  area  on  the  east  where 
the  rainfall  is  not  more  than  -20  inches  is  as  follows :  It 
begins  in  the  northeastern  part  of  North  Dakota,  not 
very  far  distant  from  the  Red  river,  and  bears  slightly  to 
the  southwest  until  it  reaches  the  Mexican  border.  This 
line  cuts  off  to  the  westward  more  than  three-fourths 
of  North  Dakota,  about  two-thirds  of  South  Dakota, 
about  one-third  of  Nebraska,  about  one-fourth  of  Kansas 
and  Texas,  and  a  small  portion  of  Oklahoma.  The  line 
that  bounds  it  on  the  west  runs  virtually  not  far  distant 
from  the  western  base  of  the  Cascade  and  Sierra  Nevada 
mountains,  except  in  certain  areas  of  California,  where 
it  runs  still  farther  to  the  west. 

The  states  included  in  the  dry  belt  in  whole  or  in 
part,  are  the  following:  North  Dakota,  South  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Kansas,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Colo- 
rado, Wyoming,  Montana,  Idaho,  Nevada,  Arizona,  Cali- 
fornia, Oregon  and  Washington,  seventeen  in  all.  East- 
ern North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas, 
Oklahoma  and  Texas  lie  within  the  areas  classed  as  sub- 
humid  and  humid,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  western 
portions  of  California,  Oregon  and  Washington.  In 
parts  of  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Utah,  Wyom- 
ing, Washington,  Oregon,  Nevada  and  Lower  California, 
the  annual  precipitation  is  less  than  10  inches.  In  but  a 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING  49 

very  small  portion  of  Washington,  Oregon  and  Wyoming 
is  the  rainfall  thus  low.  In  practically  all  the  intervening 
portions  of  the  dry  country  it  runs  from  10  to  20  inches. 
The  territory  in  Canada  classed  as  semi-arid  includes  con- 
siderable areas  in  southern  Alberta  and  Saskatchewan 
and  a  limited  area  in  southwestern  Manitoba.  Canada 
has  no  land  virtually  that  should  be  classed  as  arid.  On 
the  supposition  that  the  arid  and  semi-arid  area  lies  be- 
tween the  meridians  100  and  120  west  longitude,  and  be- 
tween parallels  53  and  30  north  latitude,  the  width  of  this 
area  is  about  1,400  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  the  length 
about  1,600  miles  from  north  to  south.  Within  this  area 
are  1,436,000,000  acres.  There  is  no  means  of  knowing 
with  certainty  at  the  present  time  the  relative  proportions 
of  this  vast  area  that  are  untillable,  because  rough,  rocky 
and  mountainous,  but  the  estimate  would  seem  low  that 
would  consider  only  two-fifths  of  the  entire  area  tillable. 
Computing  on  this  basis  would  give  practically  573,000,- 
000  acres  of  land  in  the  dry  country  that  is  tillable.  On 
the  supposition  that  73,000,000  acres  of  this  land  is  in 
Canada,  it  would  still  leave  500,000,000  acres  for  the 
United  States.  Not  more,  probably,  than  100,000,000 
acres  can  ever  be  irrigated.  This  would  leave  400,000,- 
000  acres  of  tillable  land  in  the  semi-arid  states  of  the 
west,  which  never  can  be  farmed  successfully  except  by 
dry  farming  methods.  When  it  is  further  considered 
that  nearly  all  of  this  land  is  of  surpassing  richness,  the 
magnitude  of  the  dry  land  farming  question  to  the  United 
States  will  be  at  once  apparent.  The  estimate  of  Widt- 
soe  is  even  more  liberal.  It  places  the  entire  area  that 
may  be  tilled  at  600,000,000  acres,  of  which  not  to  exceed 
5  per  cent,  will  ever  be  irrigated. 

Divisions  of  the  arid  and  semi-arid  areas. — The  arid 
and  semi-arid  areas  may  be  grouped  as  follows:  (1)  the 
Great  Plains  area;  (2)  the  Inter-mountain  region;  (3)  the 
Columbia  river  basin ;  (4)  the  Great  Basin,  and  (5)  the 


50  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  river  basins.  These  divisions 
are  based  chiefly  on  the  drainage  features  which  they  pos- 
sess respectively,  but  each  has  distinctive  features  per- 
taining to  precipitation,  temperature  and  other  weather 
conditions,  and,  therefore,  also  to  production. 

The  Great  Plains  area  includes  parts  of  North  Da- 
kota, South  Dakota,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Wy- 
oming, Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Oklahoma  and  Texas, 
also  considerable  areas  in  southern  Alberta  and  Sas- 
katchewan. This  is  the  largest  area  by  far  of  dry  farming 
land  found  in  the  west,  under  what  may  be  termed  ap- 
proximately uniform  conditions.  The  drainage  of  this 
vast  area  is  into  the  Saskatchewan,  Red  and  Mississippi 
rivers,  which  means  that  it  is  essentially  eastward,  and 
it  covers  an  area  of  not  less  probably  than  450,000  square 
miles,  thus  embracing  about  288,000,000  acres.  This  is 
the  largest  area  of  land  found  on  the  American  conti- 
nent under  practically  uniform  conditions,  and  because  of 
its  extent  and  the  character  of  its  production  it  is  by 
far  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  semi-arid  country. 
From  Canada  to  Texas  the  farmers  have  been  successful 
in  this  area  where  they  have  followed  approved  dry 
farming  methods.  It  has  special  adaptation  to  growing 
wheat  and  other  grain,  and  in  many  portions  thereof  it 
will  grow  good  crops  of  alfalfa,  corn  for  fodder  and  to  a 
less  extent  for  the  grain,  also  the  sorghums  and  the  mil- 
lets. The  entire  region  has  shown  special  adaptation  for 
the  production  of  high  class  cereals. 

The  Inter-mountain  states  include  a  part  of  Mon- 
tana, nearly  all  of  Wyoming  and  Colorado,  and  part  of 
eastern  Idaho.  As  Widtsoe  has  stated,  this  region  is 
located  along  the  backbone  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  farms  are  located  chiefly  in  the  river  valleys  and  on 
the  large  and  undulating  table  lands  at  the  base  of  the 
mountains.  Dry  farming  is  already  well  established  in 
certain  portions  of  this  area  but  the  land  brought  under 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING 


51 


cultivation  is  relatively  very  small  when  compared  with 
the  very  large  area  that  will  in  the  near  future  be  made 
to  produce  crops  successfully.  In  this  area  small  grains, 
alfalfa  and  many  kinds  of  fruits  have  succeed'ed  well. 

The  Columbia  river  basin  includes  a  large  portion  of 
Oregon,  a  considerable  portion  of  eastern  Washington, 
the  northern  and  western  part  of  Idaho,  and  a  part  of 
western  Montana  and  southern  British  Columbia.  With- 
in this  region  is  the  Inland  Empire,  covering  150,000 
square  miles  or  not  far  from  100,000,000  acres.  In  this 


FIRST  PRIZE  DRY  LAND  FARM  EXHIBIT. 

Products  all  Grown  on  the  Farm  of  Tillman  Reuter,  Madras  County,  Oregon. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

area  the  chief  crop  is  wheat,  but  in  portions  where 
the  rainfall  is  highest  fruits  have  been  grown  with  much 
success.  In  parts  of  this  area,  wheat  has  been  grown 
successfully,  where,  for  many  years,  the  average  rainfall 
has  not  been  more  than  from  10  to  11  inches  per  annum, 
and  without  apparent  diminution  in  the  yield.  It  is 
chiefly  grown  in  alternation  with  summer-fallow,  which 
was  introduced  about  1890. 


52  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  Great  Basin  country  includes  Nevada  and  the 
western  half  of  Utah,  and  a  small  portion  of  the  states 
of  southern  Oregon,  Idaho  and  California.  The  char- 
acteristic -feature  of  this  region  is  that  its  rivers  drain 
into  salt  lakes  or  dry  sinks. 

Within  it  are  many  valleys  made  up  of  nearly  level 
land.  This  basin  was  at  one  time  a  great  lake  which 
drained  into  the  Columbia  river.  The  chief  cereal  pro- 
duction of  this  area  is  .wheat,  but  it  will  also  grow,  with 
much  success,  corn,  the  sorghums  and  certain  fruits,  in- 
cluding grapes.  In  some  parts  of  this  basin  dry  farming 
has  been  conducted  for  40  to  50  years.  In  many  areas, 
especially  in  Nevada,  the  rainfall  is  even  less  than  10 
inches  per  year.  According  to  Hillgard,  dry  farming  has 
been  practised  more  or  less  since  1878,  and  Olin  states 
that  dry  farming  methods  were  practised  as  early  as 
1861. 

The  Colorado  and  Rio  Grande  river  basins  include 
the  western  part  of  New  Mexico  and  Colorado,  and  the 
southwestern  part  of  Texas.  In  those  basins  are  consid- 
erable areas  that  are  even  now  being  successfully  farmed 
on  the  dry  farming  plan.  These  will  doubtless  be  greatly 
increased  in  the  near  future,  notwithstanding  the  dry- 
ness  of  the  climate.  The  chief  of  the  dry  farm  products 
grown  at  the  present  time  are  wheat,  corn  and  the  sor- 
ghums, broom  corn,  millet  and  beans. 

Precipitation  in  the  various  states. — Below  is  a  state- 
ment (1)  of  the  average  annual  precipitation  in  the  sev- 
eral states  that  lie  within  the  arid  and  semi-arid  areas, 
in  whole  or  in  part,  from  all  the  stations  reporting  prior 
to  1909,  (2)  of  the  maximum  and  minimum  precipitation 
in  each,  and  (3)  a  reference  in  a  general  way  to  the  area 
or  areas  within  each  state  with  an  annual  rainfall  of  20 
inches  and  over  that  amount,  less  than  15  inches  and 
between  15  and  20  inches.  The  information  is  thus  based 
on  data  furnished  in  Bulletin  No.  188  issued  by  the 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING  53 

Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture in  1910/ 

In  North  Dakota  the  average  annual  precipitation  is 
17.95  inches,  the  maximum  27.03  and  the  minimum  12.3. 
About  one-sixth  of  the  area,  embracing  the  eastern  and 
especially  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  state,  has  an 
annual  precipitation  of  20  inches  and  above  that  amount. 
About  one-fifth  of  the  area  lying  in  the  northwest  and 
to  a  greater  extent  in  the  southwest,  has  a  rainfall  of  15 
inches  and  less.  The  rest  of  the  state  has  a  precipitation 
of  15  to  20  inches.  The  lowest  precipitation  is  in  the 
southwestern  counties,  where  it  averages  about  13  inches. 

In  South  Dakota  the  average  annual  rainfall  is  20.9 
inches,  the  maximum  is  29.7  and  the  minimum  9.7.  Some- 
what more  than  the  eastern  third  has  a  rainfall  of  20 
inches  and  upwards,  and  the  same  is  true  of  a  small  area 
in  the  Black  Hills  regions  in  the  west.  The  greater 
portion  of  the  western  third  is  less  than  15  inches.  A 
somewhat  limited  area  in  the  central  western  portion  is 
from  15  to  20  inches. 

In  Nebraska  the  average  annual  precipitation  is 
25.79  inches,  the  maximum  35.8  and  the  minimum  13.3. 
Only  in  the  western  third  of  the  state  is  the  rainfall  less 
than  20  inches,  and  in  but  few  counties  within  that  area 
is  it  less  than  30  inches. 

In  Kansas  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  29.05 
inches,  the  maximum  44.5  and  the  minimum  16.1.  Only 
in  about  one-sixth  of  the  western  portion  is  the  rainfall 
less  than  20  inches.  The  increase  is  gradual  and  con- 
tinuous to  the  east.  The  southeastern  part  of  the  state 
has  a  precipitation  of  more  than  40  inches  annually. 

In  Oklahoma  the  average  annual  precipitation  is 
34.75  inches,  the  maximum  45.3  and  the  minimum  15.5. 
Only  in  the  three  most  westerly  counties  is  it  less  than 
20  inches.  In  the  eastern  portion  of  the  state  and  com- 


54  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

prising  more  than  one-third  of  the  whole,  it  is  more  than 
40   inches. 

In  Texas  the  average  annual  precipitatio*n  is  31.65 
inches,  the  maximum  52.1  and  the  mimimum  9.8. 
Approximately  four-fifths  of  Texas  has  an  annual  pre- 
cipitation of  20  inches  and  over,  and  much  of  the  far 
eastern  portion  has  more  than  40  inches.  The  exception 
comprises  two  or  three  tiers  of  counties  on  the  western 
side.  Only  in  about  six  counties  in  the  extreme  south- 
west is  it  less  than  15  inches. 

In  New  Mexico  the  average  annual  precipitation  is 
13.38  inches,  the  maximum  25.1  and  the  mimimum  5.1.  In 
nearly  all  the  western  half  of  the  state  the  rainfall  is 
less  than  10  inches,  and  in  the  larger  portion  of  the  east- 
ern half  it  is  more  than  15  inches.  In  some  areas  -in  the 
central  western  portion  the  precipitation  is  from  12  to 
15  inches,  but  in  the  extreme  northwest  and  southwest 
the  precipitation  is  very  light.  Several  areas  in  the 
west  are  really  arid,  and  this  aridity  is  aggravated  by  the 
large  evaporation. 

In  Colorado  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  15.91 
inches,  the  maximum  50.5  and  the  minimum  6.6.  Only 
in  one  county,  Gunnison,  is  the  precipitation  50  inches, 
and  curiously  enough,  in  another  part  of  the  same  coun- 
ty, it  is  only  9  inches.  The  second  highest  precipitation 
recorded  is  28.7.  In  Colorado  the  areas  of  high  and  me- 
dium precipitation  are  very  irregularly  distributed,  owing 
in  some  degree  doubtless  to  the  eccentricities  of  direction 
in  the  mountain  ranges.  Generally  the  precipitation  over 
15  inches  is  found  in  the  north  central  and  eastern  coun- 
ties, between  10  and  15  inches  in  certain  of  the  central 
counties,  extending  from  the  southwest  to  the  northwest, 
and  under  10  inches  in  several  of  the  southwestern  coun- 
ties, a  few  of  which  may  be  classed  as  arid. 

In  Wyoming  the  average  annual  precipitation  is 
13.53  inches,  the  maximum  18.8  and  the  minimum  5.8. 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING  55 

The  southeastern  and  northwestern  portions  have  the 
highest  precipitation,  and  Bighorn  county  in  the  north 
and  Sweetwater  in  the  south  the  lowest.  Only  in  por- 
tions of  these  counties  can  the  country  be  classed  as  arid. 

In  Montana  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  15.39 
inches,  the  maximum  24.1  and  the  minimum  11.1.  Only 
in  a  small  portion  of  the  northwest  area  is  the  rainfall 
20  inches  and  over,  and  only  along  the  Milk  and  Bighorn 
rivers  and  the  country  contiguous  thereto  is  it  less  than 
15  inches,  except  in  a  small  area  running  diagonally 
across  the  central  portion  of  the  state.  In  none  of  the 
states  of  the  semi-arid  west  are  the  conditions  so  uni- 
form with  reference  to  precipitation.  Montana  has  prac- 
tically no  arid  land  except  what  is  made  so  by  the 
presence  of  alkali. 

In  Idaho  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  17.52 
inches,  the  maximum  37.6  and  the  minimum  9.3.  The 
precipitation  is  very  unevenly  distributed.  In  the  north- 
erly counties  of  Bonner,  Kootenai,  Shoshone,  Latah,  near- 
ly all  of  Nez  Perce  and  part  of  Idaho,  it  runs  from  20  to  30 
inches.  South  of  these  counties,  it  is,  generally  speaking, 
15  inches  and  less,  save  in  the  counties  of  Washington 
and  Boise  in  the  central  western  area.  In  the  south- 
eastern and  southwestern  counties,  it  runs  from  9  to  15 
inches. 

In  Utah  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  12.66 
inches,  the  maximum  23.1  and  the  minimum  4.1.  The 
north  central  portion  has  a  precipitation  of  15  to  more 
than  20  inches ;  east  and  west  from  this  area,  also  in  the 
south  central  portion,  it  is,  generally  speaking,  from  15 
to  10  inches.  The  east  and  west  third  have  each  ap- 
proximately less  than  10  inches.  A  very  considerable 
portion  of  Utah  is  arid. 

In  Nevada  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  9.2 
inches,  the  maximum  26.1  and  the  minimum  4.3.  Only 
in  a  very  small  area  in  the  extreme  western  portion  of 


56  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

the  state  does  the  rainfall  exceed  15  inches.  In  a  much 
larger  area  in  the  central  part  of  the  same  it  runs  from 
8  to  12  inches.  In  practically  all  the  other  portions  of 
the  state  it  is  less  than  10  inches.  In  not  less  than  half 
the  entire  area  the  conditions  would  seem  to  indicate 
aridity  in  the  absence  of  irrigating  waters.  This  state 
has  the  lowest  average  precipitation  of  all  the  states  in 
the  Union. 

In  Arizona  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  12.15 
inches,  the  maximum  24.9  and  the  minimum  3.1,  viz.,  at 
Yuma.  In  portions  of  say  five  counties  in  the  central 
part  of  the  state,  the  rainfall  is  15  inches  and  upwards. 
In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state  it  is  5  inches  and 
less.  In  nearly  all  the  other  portions  it  is  from  5  to  15 
inches.  Arizona  has  a  large  area  of  arid  land. 

In  California  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  21 
inches,  the  maximum  88.8  and  the  minimum  1.1,  viz.,  at 
Ogilby,  in  Imperial  county.  If  a  line  were  run  straight 
across  the  state  so  as  to  cut  off  north  from  it  about  two- 
fifths  of  the  same,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  small  por- 
tion in  the  extreme  northeastern  corner,  that  portion 
would  represent  in  nearly  all  instances  an  exceedingly 
heavy  rainfall.  Nearly  half  of  the  remaining  area  ly- 
ing along  the  Pacific  has  a  rainfall  of  10  to  20  inches,  and 
the  other  portion  from  10  inches  down  to  virually  no 
rainfall.  A  very  considerable  portion  of  southern  Cali- 
fornia is  arid. 

In  Oregon  the  average  annual  precipitation  is  42.8 
inches,  the  maximum  117.0  and  the  minimum  8.6.  West 
of  the  Cascades  the  precipitation  is  very  heavy.  In  the 
northeastern  counties,  it  is  15  inches  and  upwards.  In  all 
other  portions  it  is  below  15  inches,  and  in  nearly  all 
parts  more  than  10. 

In  Washington  the  average  annual  precipitation  is 
36.15  inches,  the  maximum  127  and  the  minimum  6.5. 
Westward  from  a  line  running  down  through  the  center 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING  57 

of  the  state,  the  precipitation  is  more  than  20  inches  and 
also  in  a  narrow  strip  covering  all  the  eastern  border.  In 
some  of  the  south  central  counties  it  is  less  than  10  inches 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  state  from  10  to  20  inches. 

In  southern  Alberta,  southern  Saskatchewan  and 
southwestern  Manitoba,  the  precipitation  is  not  far  dif- 
ferent from  the  same  in  the  states  of  Dakota  and  Mon- 
tana, which  border  on  them,  that  is,  it  runs  from  about 
12  to  18  inches.  One  or  two  degrees  north  from  the 
boundary  it  increases,  and  the  increase  is  virtually  as  the 
latitude  rises.  Evidence  of  such  increase  is  seen  in  the 
increase  of  tree  growth. 

The  season  of  precipitation. — The  season  at  which 
the  precipitation  falls  greatly  influences  the  character  of 
the  production.  When  the  bulk  of  the  rain  falls  in  the 
winter,  autumn-sown  crops  can  be  grown  with  the  best 
success,  since  they  get  virtually  the  full  benefit  of  the 
precipitation,  and  they  mature  before  the  driest  portion  of 
the  year.  When  it  falls  in  the  spring  months,  spring 
cereals  may  be  more  successfully  grown.  When  it  falls  in 
the  summer  months,  the  problem  becomes  more  compli- 
cated. 

In  the  Great  Plains  area  the  bulk  of  the  precipitation 
comes  in  the  growing  season;  that  is,  in  the  months  of 
April,  May,  June  and  July.  This  so  far  is  greatly 
in  favor  of  the  growing  crops,  but  the  loss  from  evapora- 
tion is  greater  than  when  much  of  the  rain  comes  in  the 
winter.  In  some  areas  nearly  half  the  precipitation 
comes  in  June  and  July.  In  New  Mexico  and  the  dry 
portions  of  Oklahama  and  Texas,  the  heaviest  pre- 
cipitation occurs  in  July  and  August. 

In  the  Inter-mountain  states  the  precipitation  is  also 
the  heaviest  in  the  spring  months,  but  it  is  more  evenly 
distributed  throughout  the  year,  especially  in  the  west- 
ern portions  of  the  same.  This  so  far  is  favorable  to  the 
production  of  both  winter  and  spring  crops. 


58  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

In  the  Columbia  river  basin  the  rain  comes  chiefly 
in  the  first  five  months  of  the  year,  and  the  three  closing 
months  of  the  same.  During  the  intervening  months  the 
precipitation  is  very  low  or  entirely  absent,  which  is  so 
far  favorable  to  the  harvesting  of  the  crop. 

In  the  states  of  the  Great  Basin,  the  larger  portion 
of  the  precipitation  falls  in  November,  December,  Janu- 
ary, February,  March  and  April.  These  areas  therefore 
are  mainly  adapted  to  the  growing  of  winter  cereals,  and 
fruits.  The  months  of  July,  August  and  September  are 
practically  rainless. 

In  the  Colorado  and  the  Rio  Grande  river  basins 
nearly  all  the  precipitation  comes  in  the  months  of  July, 
August  and  September.  The  precipitation  is  very  light 
during  the  first  half  of  the  year.  The  seasonal  rainfall  in 
the  dry  areas  of  the  several  states  included  as  arid  and 
semi-arid  is  in  outline  as  follows :  In  North  Dakota, 
Nebraska,  Kansas  and  also  the  greater  portion  of  Mon- 
tana, the  larger  portion  of  the  rain  falls  in  April,  May, 
June,  July  and  August.  The  heaviest  precipitation  by 
far  occurs  in  June  and  July.  In  Oklahoma  and  Texas, 
the  precipitation  comes  chiefly  in  the  spring  and  summer 
months,  being  greatest  in  midsummer.  In  New  Mexico 
the  bulk  of  the  rain  falls  in  July,  August  and  September. 
In  Colorado  and  Wyoming,  the  bulk  of  the  precipitation 
comes  in  the  spring  and  summer  months,  much  the  larger 
amount  falling  in  the  spring  months.  In  Idaho,  Utah, 
Nevada,  California,  Oregon  and  Washington,  the  precipi- 
tation occurs  chiefly  in  the  late  autumn  and  winter 
months,  and  to  some  extent  in  the  spring  months.  In 
Arizona  the  rainfall  is  very  light  in  the  winter  months, 
almost  entirely  absent  in  the  spring  months,  quite  heavy 
in  July  and  August  and  light  during  the  rest  of  the  year. 
In  the  dry  areas  of  Canada,  much  the  largest  precipitation 
comes  in  April,  May,  June  and  July. 


THE  DOMAIN  FOR  DRY  FARMING  59 

Other  weather  condition  in  dry  areas. — In  addition 
to  the  amount  of  the  precipitation  and  the  time  at  which 
it  falls,  other  weather  conditions  that  merit  attention 
include:  (1)  the  manner  of  the  precipitation;  (2)  the 
nature  of  the  temperature,  and  (3)  the  character  of  the 
winds. 

The  value  of  the  precipitation  is  largely  dependent 
on  the  way  in  which  it  falls.  It  renders  far  greater 
service  to  agriculture  when  it  falls  gently  and  for  a 
prolonged  period  than  when  it  comes  as  a  downpour. 
Falling  thus,  much  of  it  is  lost  to  the  soil.  Rain  is  said 
to  be  torrential  when  it  falls  at  the  rate  of  an  inch  or 
more  per  hour.  When  it  falls  thus  the  larger  portion  of 
it  may  be  lost  even  on  summer-fallowed  land.  To  lessen 
such  loss,  the  ground  is  left  more  or  less  rough,  and  it  is 
supplied  with  vegetable  matter,  as  for  instance  the  straw 
of  headed  grain  plowed  in.  When  rain  falls  in  the  winter 
and  early  spring,  it  is  seldom  torrential.  When  it  falls 
in  the  summer,  it  is  more  likely  to  be  so.  The  Great 
Basin  is  more  subject  to  this  form  of  precipitation  than 
the  other  areas  of  the  dry  country. 

More  of  the  precipitation  comes  as  snow  in  northern 
areas  and  on  high  elevations,  the  highest  precipitation 
falling  on  the  elevations.  Even  on  the  northern  areas 
of  the  Great  Plains  country  the  snowfall  is  not  heavy. 
The  benefit  which  it  brings  to  the  soil  is  largely  dependent 
on  the  degree  of  the  frost  and  on  how  the .  snow  is 
removed.  Little  frost  in  the  soil  and  slow  melting  may 
result  in  saving  to  the  soil  nearly  all  the  resultant 
moisture.  When  conditions  the  opposite  are  present, 
the  greater  portion  may  be  lost. 

The  worst  form  in  which  the  precipitation  can  come 
is  in  the  form  of  hail.  The  Great  Plains  area  is  most 
subject  to  these  visitations.  In  some  instances  hail  storms 
are  very  destructive. 


60  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  temperature  in  the  arid  and  semi-arid  regions 
is  seldom  very  extreme.  Except  in  southwestern 
Manitoba,  Southern  Saskatchewan  and  the  western 
Dakotas,  and  on  very  high  elevations,  the  winter  weather 
is  not  severe.  Even  in  much  of  the  Great  Plains  country 
live  stock,  especially  horses  and  cattle,  can  graze  much  of 
the  winter.  West  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  frost 
enters  the  ground  only  for  a  short  distance  and  not  for 
a  prolonged  period,  and  in  southern  areas  the  ground 
does  not  freeze.  Only  in  the  south  and  southwest  is  the 
summer  heat  subtropical,  and  even  in  these  areas  the 
nights  are  cool,  as  they  are  everywhere  in  the  dry  area. 

Other  peculiarities  of  climate  include  the  following: 
(1)  an  atmosphere  that  is  dry,  rarified,  pure,  and  very 
wholesome,  as  shown  in  the  healthfulness  of  live  stock 
and  the  comparative  freedom  from  pulmonary  disease  in 
the  human  family;  (2)  sunshine  during  more  than  60  per 
cent,  of  the  time  between  sunrise  and  sunset ;  (3)  little  or 
no  liability  to  sunstroke ;  (4)  almost  entire  exemption 
from  prolonged  periods  of  dreary,  drizzling  rain. 

The  frequency  and  the  constancy  with  which  wind 
currents  blow,  especially  in  the  level  stretches  of  the 
Great  Plains  area,  is  one  of  the  unpleasant  features  of 
farm  life  in  those  areas,  but  even  in  these  the  stiff  wind 
currents  are  largely  confined  to  the  winter  and  spring. 
They  are  but  little  present  in  other  portions  of  the  dry 
area.  The  summers  are  usually  pleasant  in  the  greater 
portion  of  the  dry  area  and  the  autumns  are  simply  de- 
lightful. 

Other  peculiarities  of  the  winds  include:  (1)  blizzard 
conditions,  though  infrequent  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Great  Plains  country;  (2)  winds  warm  enough  in  the 
same  area  to  injure  the  crops  more  or  less,  though  less 
so  now  than  formerly,  since  so  much  of  the  ground  is 
being  clothed  with  growing  plants ;  (3)  the  almost  com- 
plete absence  of  cyclones  and  tornadoes. 


CHAPTER  IV 
SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

The  discussion  of  soils  in  dry  areas  will  be  essentially 
popular  in  kind.  The  attempt  will  not  be  made  to  classify 
these  soils  on  what  may  be  termed  a  strictly  scientific 
basis.  They  will  be  discussed  on  the  basis  of  the  popular 
conception  of  their  leading  characteristics.  Hillgard. 
suggests  the  following  classifications:  (1)  soils  very 
sandy;  (2)  ordinary  sandy  soils;  (3)  sandy  loams;  (4) 
clay  soils,  and  (5)  heavy  clay  soils.  The  first  of  these 
has  from  0.5  to  3  per  cent,  of  clay ;  the  second  3.0  to  10.0 ; 
the  third  10  to  15  and  the  fourth  15  to  35.  The  present 
discussion  will  regard  them  as:  (1)  clay;  (2)  sandy;  (3) 
silt ;  (4)  volcanic  ash ;  (5)  gumbo,  and  (6)  alkali.  It  will 
be  preceded  by  the  consideration  of  some  of  the 
characteristics  peculiar  to  western  soils  and  subsoils 
and  followed  by  the  discussion  of  natural  production  as 
an  index  of  soils. 

Some  characteristics  of  western  soils. — The -soils  in 
dry  areas  frequently  differ  from  those  in  humid  areas :  (1) 
in  color;  (2)  in  their  mineral  constituents;  (3)  in  the 
supply  of  organic  matter,  and  (4)  in  their  moisture- 
holding  power.  In  other  respects  they  may  be  similar 
to  the  latter,  as  in  their  physical  constituents. 

The  average  soil  of  the  Mississippi  valley  is  dark  in 
its  color.  This  is  essentially  the  outcome  of  the  large 
amount  of  organic  matter  which  it  contains  in  one  or 
the  other  of  its  forms.  One  who  is  familar  only  with 
such  soils,  looks  suspiciously  on  those  of  the  semi-arid 
west.  He  is  much  prone,  to  conclude  that  they  are  lack- 
ing in  fertility  and  that  they  are  also  difficult  to  till. 
These  conclusions  are  far  from  correct.  These  soils,  which 
are  usually  brown  in  color,  with  variations,  of  course,  that 
are  lighter  and  darker,  are  much  richer  in  the  essential 


62  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

elements  of  plant  food,  especially  those  that  are  mineral 
in  character,  than  the  soils  of  humid  areas,  and  in  many 
instances  it  is  easier  to  maintain  them  in  proper  condition 
as  to  tilth  after  they  have  been  broken.  The  sparse  char- 
acter of  the  vegetation  that  frequently  grows  on  them  in 
a  state  of  nature  still  further  enhances  the  contempt 
which  many  persons  from  humid  regions  cherish  for  the 
soils  of  the  semi-arid  country  when  they  first  see  them. 
Soils  in  dry  areas  are  much  richer  in  soluble  salts, 
alkalies  and  mineral  plant  food  than  the  soils  of  humid 
areas.  They  have  all  the  minerals  contained  in  the  rocks 
from  which  they  come,  and  of  soluble  salts  there  may 
be  even  an  accumulation.  They  have  not  been  washed 
out  as  in  humid  areas.  The  soluble  silica  and  alumina 
which  indicate  the  availability  of  these  soils  are  about 
2J^  times  greater  in  the  former  and  about  4  times  greater 
in  the  latter  than  in  the  soils  of  humid  climates.  Soda 
and  magnesia,  which  up  to  a  certain  limit  stimulate  plant 
growth,  are  also  plentiful.  Where  the  accumulation  of 
these  is  excessive,  vegetation  partly  or  wholly  disappears. 
Phosphate,  potash  and  lime  are  also  more  abundant  in 
dry  than  in  humid  soils.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the 
phosphate  is  from  1  to  2  times  greater  on  the  average, 
that  potash  is  more  than  3  times  greater,  and  that  lime 
is  frequently  from  10  to  12  times  greater.  It  is  fortunate 
that  so  much  lime  is  present  in  semi-arid  soils.  Among 
the  benefits  resulting  from  its  presence  are  the  follow- 
ing: (1)  It  aids  in  the  quick  conversion  of  organic  matter 
into  humus,  and  this  in  many  instances  represents  the 
main  portion  of  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soil.  (2)  In 
so  doing  it  encourages  the  presence  and  action  of  bac- 
terial life,  which  is  an  important  factor  in  maintaining 
and  developing  soil  fertility.  (3)  It  aids  in  liberating 
and  rendering  more  available  the  phosphoric  acid  and 
potash  in  the  soil  through  the  chemical  changes  which  it 
brings  about.  (4)  It  tends  to  prevent  acidity  in  soils 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  63 

where  much  organic  matter  is  buried  in  the  same,  a  condi- 
tion that  is  often  seriously  detrimental  to  plant  growth 
in  humid  climates.  In  the  semi-arid  belt  the  amount  of 
lime  present  is  relatively  very  large  before  it  proves  in- 
jurious. In  many  humid  climates" the  application  of  lime 
may  in  many  instances  be  necessary  in  order  to  insure 
good  returns.  It  is  seldom  necessary  to  add  lime  thus  to 
semi-arid  soils.  Western  soils  are  comparatively  low  in 
humus.  For  the  reasons,  see  p.  413. 

Because  of  this  it  is  a  matter  of  prime  importance 
that  the  humus  supply  in  these  shall  be  increased  if 
maximum  production  is  to  be  obtained  from  them.  For 
some  of  the  ways  in  which  this  may  be  brought  about 
see  p.  420.  The  moisture-holding  power  of  much  of  the 
soil  in  the  semi-arid  country  is  very  marked.  This  fol- 
lows from  the  fact:  (1)  that  while  it  is  sufficiently  por- 
ous it  is  not  unduly  loose,  a  condition  arising  from  the 
character  of  the  soil  grains  which  compose  it;  (2)  that 
it  is  possessed  of  sufficient  firmness,  without  that  undue 
consolidation  which  is  a  barrier  to  the  penetration  of 
moisture;  (3)  that  it  is  close  grained,  but  not  run  to- 
gether and  so  adhesive  that  it  cannot  be  readily 
penetrated  by  the  roots  of  plants.  This  moisture-holding 
power  is  increased  by  proper  cultivation  (see  chapter 
VIII)  and  increasing  the  supply  of  humus  in  the  soft. 

The  following  are  among  the  essential  characteristics 
of  a  good  dry  land  soil:  (1)  It  must  be  easy  of  tillage. 
Such  will  be  its  condition  when  the  sand  and  clay  con- 
stituents are  properly  blended.  Western  soils  have 
usually  enough  sand  in  them  to  make  them  easy  of 
tillage  when  they  are  sufficiently  moist.  They  also 
excel  in  flocculation,  that  is  the  looseness  or  fineness  of 
the  particles.  (2)  It  must  be  easily  penetrated  by 
moisture  when  subjected  to  the  processes  of  tillage. 
Many  soils  that  are  so  firm  as  to  resist  the  easy  penetra- 
tion of  water  when  not  yet  broken  are  easily  penetrated 


64  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

by  the  same  when  tilled,  a  result  of  the  structure  of  the 
soil  grains  as  neither  too  coarse  nor  too  fine.  Some 
soils  are  so  fine  that  through  impactioh  they  resist  the 
easy  penetration  of  water.  Such  are  clays  of  fine  texture. 
Other  soils  may  be  so  open  that  they  lose  moisture  by 
leaching  almost  as  fast  as  it  comes  to  them.  Such  are 
coarse  sands,  but  these  are  not  very  prevalent.  (3)  It  must 
be  able  to  retain  moisture.  This  will  follow  when  the 
soil  grains  are  neither  too  large  nor  too  small,  too  ad- 
hesive nor  too  much  filled  with  air  spaces.  This  condi- 
tion is  best  found  in  sandy  loam  soils  well  supplied  with 
humus.  The  deeper  that  the  soil  possessed  of  these  prop- 
erties is,  the  more  moisture  will  it  contain.  Such  a  soil 
and  subsoil  will  readily  store  a  goodly  supply  of  moisture 
for  further  use,  and  it  will  also  furnish  ample  feeding 
ground  for  the  roots  of  plants.  (4)  It  should  not  have  in 
excess  those  elements  that  lead  to  a  gumbo  or  an  alkali 
condition  (see  p.  73).  Such  soils  are"  very  hard  to  till 
owing  to  the  difficulty  of  keeping  them  in  a  proper  me- 
chanical condition.  (5)  They  should  not  be  so  light  and 
fine  as  to  lift  with  the  wind.  Such  a  condition  would  add 
greatly  to  the  difficulty  of  cultivating  and  cropping  such 
soils  in  dry  areas.  (6)  They  should  not  wash  readily 
when  rainfall  is  abundant.  This  is  one  of  the  weak 
characteristics  of  many  western  soils.  The  particles  are 
so  light  and  so  little  adhesive  that  they  are  easily  held 
in  solution  and  hence  are  easily  carried  away.  This  is 
often  true  of  soils  that  are  productive.  This  tendency 
may  be  lessened  in  various  ways,  but  more  especially  by 
adding  humus  to  the  soil.  (7)  It  should  be  rich  in  plant 
food  not  only  in  the  tillable  portion  but  in  the  subsoil. 
This  characteristic  is  usually  present  in  a  marked  degree, 
not  only  in  western  soils  but  also  in  the  subsoils  that  un- 
derlie them. 

Characteristics  of  subsoil. — In  dry  areas  the  phys- 
ical constituents  of  soil  and  subsoil  are  frequently  much 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  65 

alike.  The  same  is  true  of  their  chemical  constituents. 
The  surface  soils  have  more  humus  in  them  and  more 
of  the  mineral  plant  food  is  in  an  available  form.  But 
the  difference  in  these  respects  is  oftentimes  not  very 
marked.  That  it  so  is  very  fortunate,  as  deep  storage  is 
thus  made  for  moisture  and  much  opportunity  is  given 
for  that  soil  moisture  movement  which  carries  plant  food 
in  solution  up  to  the  surface  soil.  It  also  furnishes 
deep  feeding  ground  for  the  roots  of  plants. 

Should  the  subsoil  be  dense  clay,  the  downward 
movement  of  water  would  be  hindered.  Should  it  be 
hard-pan  it  would  be  more  effectively  hindered.  Should 
it  be  coarse  sand  or  gravel,  the  upward  movement  would 
be  entirely  cut  off,  or  virtually  so.  But  when  the  subsoil 
is  much  like  the  surface  soil,  none  of  these  evils  follow. 
The  most  objectionable  subsoils  in  dry  areas  include  the 
following:  (1)  soils  that  are  underlaid  with  hard-pan 
that  is  not  distant  from  the  surface ;  (2)  those  that  have 
gravel  seams  not  far  below  the  surface  or  that  are  under- 
laid with  sand  coarse  in  character,  and  with  but  little 
clay  interspersed  between  the  soil  grains;  (3)  subsoils 
that  are  so  compact  that  they  are  not  easy  of  penetration 
by  air  or  by  the  roots  of  plants,  and  (4)  subsoils  that  are 
saturated  frequently  with  seepage  water  that  rises  to  the 
surface. 

A  hard-pan  condition  is  usually  brought  about  by  the 
action  of  lime,  which  is  so  abundant  in  the  soil  of  semi- 
arid  areas,  and  water.  Water  carries  down  the  lime  in 
solution  as  far  as  it  goes,  but,  owing  to  the  light  precipi- 
tation and  the  dry  and  hard  character  of  the  subsoil,  it 
does  not  go  very  far,  and  it  goes  down  to  about  the  same 
distance  from  year  to  year.  When  the  lowest  limit  of 
water  penetration  is  reached,  it  combines  with  other  soil 
ingredients  and  forms  a  layer  of  calcareous  material  so 
dense  and  hard  that  it  cannot  be  penetrated  easily  by 
the  roots  of  plants.  Even  where  but  little  lime  is  pres- 


66  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ent,  clayey  particles  are  worked  down,  so  as  to  aid  in 
forming  so  firm  an  under-soil  that,  the  roots  of  plants 
may  not  easily  penetrate  it.  Such  a  condition  of  the 
subsoil  may  frequently  be  removed  by  tillage  that  is 
deep  and  judiciously  given.  Such  tillage  facilitates  the 
downward  movement  of  water  to  an  extent  that  tends, 
to  break  up  the  hard-pan  even  at  distances  far  below  the 
surface  soil. 

When  a  gravel  seam  has  been  deposited  not  far  dis- 
tant from  the  surface,  it  facilitates  the  downward  move- 
ment of  water  in  the  soil  and  cuts  off  the  upward  move- 
ment of  the  same,  on  the  principle  known  as  capillarity. 
In  dry  areas  such  a  condition  is  greatly  harmful  to  vege- 
tation. If  the  gravel  seam  is  of  great  depth,  the  harmful 
influence  referred  to  is  intensified,  and  if  the  subsoil  con- 
sists almost  entirely  of  coarse  sand  grains,  similarly  ad- 
verse influences  will  follow.  It  may  be  impossible  in 
some  instances  to  obtain  satisfactory  production  from 
soils  thus  underlaid,  but  should  the  sand  or  gravel  be 
interspersed  with  clay  particles,  these  harmful  results 
will  be  reduced  proportionately  to  the  extent  to  which  the 
clay  particles  are  present. 

In  some  instances  fine  clay  particles  are  carried  down 
from  the  surface  and  left  to  mingle  with  the  substances 
composing  the  subsoils  so  as  to  form  a  mass  that  is  not 
easily  penetrated  by  the  roots  of  plants.  Opening  up  the 
surface  soil  so  as  to  admit  more  readily  the  descent  of 
water  will  usually  help  this  condition,  and  it  may  be 
still  further  aided  by  the  decay  of  deep  rooted  plants,  as 
those  of  alfalfa,  which  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent  may 
have  penetrated  these  soils. 

In  some  instances,  especially  in  the  soils  adjacent  to 
higher  lands,  seepage  waters  come  down  from  the 
former  and  to  such  an  extent  as  to  rise  to  the  surface 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  These  may  exclude  the 
air  from  both  soil  and  subsoil  to  such  an  extent  as  to 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  67 

prevent  growth  in  the  higher  forms  of  vegetation  and  in 
some  instances  any  form  of  the  same.  In  soils  thus 
saturated,  oxygen,  so  essential  to  germination  and  vig- 
orous growth,  is  in  a  great  measure  excluded.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  this  element  of  the  air,  microscopic  organisms 
cannot  carry  on  their  beneficent  work,  the  decay  of 
plant  food  is  proportionally  retarded  and  the  formation 
of  nitrates  is  proportionately  hindered.  Moreover,  when 
the  seepage  waters  contain  alkali  substances,  these  condi- 
tions are  intensified,  and  oftentimes  to  the  extent  of  ex- 
cluding all  kinds  of  vegetation.  Such  a  condition  can- 
not be  remedied  until  drainage  has  been  effected  that 
will  promptly  carry  away  the  ingredients  that  are 
harmful.  •;  \ -;i:|  j 

Clay  loam  soils. — These  may  be  defined  as  soils  that 
contain  approximately  from  15  to  20  per  cent,  of  clay. 
They  differ  from  clay  soils  in  the  less  percentage  of  the 
clay  which  they  possess,  and  from  sandy  loams  in  having 
a  lower  percentage  of  sand.  They  have  also  less  clay 
than  soils  that  are  classed  simply  as  loams.  They  are 
relatively  high  in  their  percentage  of  humus. 

It  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  clay  loam  soils  pre- 
vail to  a  greater  extent  on  the  grass-covered  bench  lands 
than  any  other  class  of  soils.  This  means  that  they  are 
the  principal  soils  found  on  the  benches  of  the  Plains 
country.  The  soils  that  grow  sage  brush  are  also  fre- 
quently of  this  type.  They  are  also  found  interspersed 
to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  Inter-mountain  region, 
and  to  some  extent  in  the  Great  Basin. 

The  superiority  of  clay  loam  soils  lies  first  in  the 
ease  with  which  they  may  be  tilled,  second  in  their  mois- 
ture-holding power,  and  third  in  their  richness  in  the 
elements  of  plant  food.  It  would  not  be  correct  to  say 
that  they  are  the  easiest  tilled  soils  in  semi-arid  areas, 
but  they  are  relatively  easy  of  tillage,  because  of  the 
happy  blending  of  the  clay  and  sand  particles,  more 


68  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

especially  when  they  are  properly  supplied  with  humus. 
The  moisture-holding  power  of  course  increases  with  the 
humus  supply,  other  things  being  equal.  The  richness 
which  these  soils  usually  possess  gives  them  great  wear- 
ing power.  It  is  also  retentive  of  gases  and  soluble  plant 
foods. 

Heavy  compact  clays  are  undesirable.  They  are 
slow  to  absorb  water  and  quick  to  lose  it  by  evapora- 
tion, because  of  the  readiness  with  which  they  impact 
and  form  openings  in  the  surface  which  allow  moisture 
to  escape.  Stiff  clays  are  composed  of  the  finest  par- 
ticles of  the  soil,  in  some  instances  five  hundred  times 
finer  than  sand  grains.  They  are  so  fine  that  they  do 
not  settle  readily  when  held  in  solution.  If  these  soils 
are  tilled  when  wet  they  become  so  adhesive  as  to  be 
almost  unworkable  on  drying.  Such  a  condition  will 
preclude  successful  production  in  dry  weather.  But  the 
mission  of  clay  particles  when  mixed  with  coarser  soil 
particles  is  most  beneficent,  since  it  increases  their  rich- 
ness and  also  their  moisture-holding  power. 

Sandy  loam  soils. — In  dry  areas  sandy  loam  soils 
are  such  as  are  composed  of  sand  particles  intermingled 
with  clay  to  the  extent  of  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  clay.  The 
clay  content  in  them  is  from  two  to  three  times  as  much 
as  the  clay  content  in  sandy  soils.  In  some  areas 
sandy  soils  have  come  from  sand-bearing  rocks  which, 
when  decomposed,  are  not  capable  of  furnishing  clay, 
hence  the  low  fertility  of  these.  But  this  is  not  usually 
true  of  sandy  soils  in  dry  areas,  as  in  arid  regions  ex- 
perience has  shown  that  these  soils  are  as  productive 
as  other  good  soils  when  sufficiently  supplied  with  wa- 
ter. This  holds  good  even  with  arid  soils  that  are  desert 
in  the  absence  of  irrigating  waters.  The  sand  and  silt 
particles  in  these  are  capable  on  further  reduction  of 
yielding  clay.  The  clay  particles  are  greatly  helpful  in 
lessening  the  spaces  between  the  soil  grains.  Many  of 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  69 

these  particles  may  adhere  to  one  grain,  and  in  so  far 
as  they  do  they  lessen  the  tendency  to  leaching. 

Sandy  loam  soils  and  also  sandy  soils  cover  much  of 
the  surface  of  the  semi-arid  areas.  In  the  eastern  portion 
of  this  area  these  are  usually  sectional,  and  in  some  in- 
stances the  silt  particles  in  them  are  so  light  that  they 
lift  more  or  less  with  the  wind.  In  the  Inter-mountain 
region  these  areas  are  more  pronounced.  In  some  parts 
of  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  they  cover  wide  areas, 
and  the  same  is  more  or  less  true  of  the  Big  Basin  coun- 
try. In  many  instances  sandy  soils  maintain  but  little 
growth  while  yet  untilled,  hence  oftentimes  they  have 
a  barren  aspect. 

In  dry  areas  sandy  loam  soils  are  among  the  best, 
whether  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  production  or 
from  that  of  tillage.  These  soils  encrust  and  compact 
less  readily  than  other  soils  and  they  do  not  lose  water 
so  readily  by  evaporation.  They  may  be  tilled  at  al- 
most any  season  of  the  year  not  locked  with  frost.  They 
warm  more  quickly  in  the  spring,  and  are  therefore  more 
favorable  to  early  growth.  Their  value,  however,  is 
much  influenced  by  the  degree  of  the  clay  which  they 
possess.  When  too  lacking  in  clay  or  silt  particles,  they 
become  leachy. 

*  Silt  soils. — Silt  soils  are  composed  of  soil  grains  that 
have  been  deposited  mainly  through  the  action  of  wa- 
ter. The  particles  of  which  they  are  composed  are  usu- 
ally small  and  fine,  much  smaller  and  finer  than  the 
average  sand  particles  and  larger  than  the  particles  of 
clay  soils.  They  are  of  varying  degrees  of  fineness,  de- 
pendent on  the  extent  of  the  reduction  of  the  sand  par- 
ticles which  compose  them.  In  some  instances  they  are 
possessed  of  much  uniformity  in  texture,  and  this  may 
extend  to  a  great  depth.  In  other  instances  they  are  in- 
termixed with  gravel  more  or  less  coarse  and  they  are 
not  infrequently  underlaid  with  a  subsoil  of  coarse  gravel 


70  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

which  may  come  up  near  to  the  surface.  In  yet  other 
instances  these  soils  are  so  impregnated  with  fine  clay 
particles  that  they  lose  much  of  their  silty  character  and 
assume  more  the  character  of  a  clay  soil.  If  alkali  is 
present  these  soils  may  assume  a  gumbo  character.  True 
silt  soils  are  relatively  rich  in  the  elements  of  plant  food 
and  are  very  easily  tilled,  but  they  frequently  lose  mois- 
ture easily.by  leaching,  and  they  are  much  liable  to  wash. 

Silty  soils,  sometimes  called  alluvial  soils,  are  found 
to  a  much  greater  extent  in  the  valleys  that  line  the 
streams  than  elsewhere.  These  valleys  in  western  areas 
are  usually  relatively  large,  hence  the  area  embraced  as 
silt  is  quite  considerable.  These  soils  are  also  found  in 
areas  of  considerable  size  that  were  at  one  time  the 
beds  of  ancient  lakes. 

The  relative  value  of  silt  soils  depends  largely  on 
their  composition.  True  silt  soils  that  are  also  deep 
and  uniform  in  their  composition  are  usually  very  rich. 
This  may  also  be  true  of  soils  that  are  less  uniform  in 
composition  and  texture.  As  a  rule  they  are  also  easily 
tilled.  But  they,  in  very  many  instances,  allow  water 
to  pass  down  through  them  so  easily  that  crops  grown 
on  them  in  dry  areas  in  the  absence  of  irrigating  waters 
are  much  liable  to  be  injured  by  drought.  The  author 
has  found  it  much  more  difficult  to  grow  good  crops  on 
these  soils  in  dry  years  than  on  the  average  bench  land 
soil.  When  these  soils  were  underlaid  by  gravel,  even 
some  considerable  distance  below  the  surface,  the  loss 
of  moisture  was  increased.  When  the  gravel  came  up 
quite  close  to  the  surface  good  crops  could  not  be  ob- 
tained, even  in  seasons  that  were  reasonably  moist,  in 
the  absence  of  irrigation.  When  the  gravels  were  mixed 
with  silt,  the  results  were  much  less  harmful,  just  as  the 
gravel  subsoils  on  bench  lands  that  come  up  near  the 
surface  are  much  less  harmful  when  they  are  mixed  with 
a  goodly  sprinkling  of  clay.  The  summer  temperature 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  71 

is  also  considerably  higher  in  those  river  basins  than  on 
the  benches  and  the  rainfall  is  usually  somewhat  less. 
These  conditions  add  to  the  difficulty  of  getting  good 
crops  from  such  soils  in  the  absence  of  irrigation. 

Volcanic  ash  soils. — Volcanic  ash  soils,  as  the  name 
implies,  are  composed  of  very  fine  particles  resembling 
ashes  in  their  fineness  and  in  the  ease  with  which  they 
may  be  dissolved  and  carried  away  by  the  action  of  the 
water.  They  owe  their  existence  to  the  action  of  vol- 
canoes in  eruption  in  primeval  centuries.  The  particles 
which  compose  them  are  very  fine,  finer  than  the  par- 
ticles found  in  silt  soils.  These,  more  than  any  other 
soils  found  in  the  west,  are  flocculated  in  character,  which 
means  that  the  exceedingly  fine  particles  which  compose 
them  are  gathered  together  into  little  flocks,  as  it  were, 
through  the  action  of  lime,  which  tends  to  bind  them 
together.  Were  it  not  for  this  binding  process,  plants 
would  be  unable  to  live  in  the  soil.  Organic  matter 
also  helps  these  soils  by  keeping  asunder  the  particles 
of  the  same. 

These  soils  cover  considerable  areas  of  the  far  west- 
ern states,  especially  of  the  Inter-mountain  regions. 
They  are  found  not  only  in  the  valleys,  but  also  on  the 
higher  elevations.  In  many  instances  they  are  found 
without  intermixture  and  of  much  depth.  In  other  in- 
stances they  are  more  or  less  mixed  with  the  substances 
which  tend  much  to  modify  their  character. 

Volcanic  ash  soils  are  exceedingly  high  in  the  ele- 
ments of  plant  food,  especially  in  the  mineral  elements 
of  the  same.  They  have  great  wearing  power,  and  as  a 
result  under  fair  treatment  will  grow  many  successive 
crops  without  showing  any  indications  of  a  waning  fer- 
tility. They  are  also  easily  tilled.  They  do  not  bake 
readily  in  the  sense  in  which  hard  clay  soils  bake,  but 
they  do  incrust  'on  the  surface  more  or  less  after  rain, 
as  nearly  all  soils  do  that  are  low  in  organic  matter. 


72  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

This  is  the  great  lack  of  volcanic  ash  soils,  and  it  fur- 
nishes one  explanation  of  the  ease  with  which  they  are 
gullied  and  carried  away  by  the  action  of  water.  The 
adaptation  of  these  soils  to  a  great  variety  of  produc- 
tion when  sufficently  supplied  with  water  is  simply  mar- 
velous. 

Gumbo  soils. — Gumbo  soils  are  soils  that  are  pos- 
sessed of  enough  of  the  elements  of  alkali  (see  p.  73)  to 
make  them  adhesive,  and  yet  these  elements  are  not 
sufficiently  adhesive  to  make  tillage  impracticable,  al- 
though it  may  be  and  is  usually  difficult.  These  soils 
may  contain  much  clay.  They  usually  do,  but  they  may 
also  contain  some  sand.  They  are  so  adhesive  that  when 
dry  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  plow  them.  They  turn 
up  in  great  chunks  which  it  is  impossible  to  pulverize 
until  they  are  softened  by  rain,  which  acts  on  them 
much  as  it  does  on  unslaked  lime.  If  worked  when  wet 
they  adhere  to  the  implements  of  tillage  to  such  an  ex- 
tent as  to  make  tillage  virtually  impracticable.  In  order 
to  till  them,  advantage  must  be  taken  of -those  periods 
when  moisture  is  present  in  that  degree  which  makes  til- 
lage practicable,  and  when  it  is  not  present  in  that  degree 
which  will  result  in  the  baking  of  the  land  after  it  has 
been  worked.  This  narrows  very  considerably  the  sea- 
son of  the  year  during  which  gumbo  lands  may  be  suc- 
cessfully tilled.  The  highways  in  areas  where  gumbo 
soils  prevail  are  almost  impassible  in  time  of  wet 
weather.  Owing  to  the  adhesive  character  of  these  soils 
when  wet  it  is  almost  impossible  to  drive  a  vehicle  along 
the  highway  because  of  the  accumulation  of  plastic  soil 
which  adheres  to  the  wheels. 

Gumbo  soils  are  not  generally  present  in  extensive 
areas  in  the  dry  west.  They  are  more  commonly  met 
with  in  river  basins  and  in  depressions  on  the  higher 
lands,  oftentimes  they  are  found  in  spots  of  more  or  less 
size  in  areas  where  the  soil  is  easy  of  tillage.  That  they 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  73 

are  found  to  a  greater  extent  in  river  basins  than  in 
other  areas  is  fortunate,  since  it  makes  it  possible  to 
run  irrigating  waters  over  them  in  many  instances  in 
a  way  that  will  render  great  service  in  their  tillage.  But 
on  other  land  such  aid  is,  of  course,  impossible. 

Gumbo  soils  are  rich.  They  are  generally  speaking 
unusually  rich,  hence  their  power  to  wear  is  unusually 
good.  If  brought  into  a  proper  mechanical  condition, 
they  produce  enormous  crops  when  the  conditions  are 
all  favorable.  But  frequently  the  conditions  are  not 
favorable.  The  moisture  in  the  spring  may  retard  tillage 
at  the  right  season.  The  lack  of  moisture  in  the  autumn 
may  render  tillage  impossible.  It  may  also  hinder  the 
sprouting  of  grain  sown  at  that  season.  Under  nearly 
all  circumstances  the  fine  pulverization  of  the  land  is 
difficult. 

Experience  in  handling  these  lands  has  shown  that 
when  they  are  judiciously  worked  and  cropped  they  be- 
come more  tractable,  so  to  speak.  Especially  is  this 
true  when  coarse  farmyard  manure  is  buried  in  these 
soils  or  when  green  crops  grown  on  them  have  been 
plowed  under.  When  the  necessity  is  imperative  for 
working  these  soils,  the  aim  should  be  to  grow  on  them 
alfalfa  as  far  as  this  may  be  practicable.  In  moist  sea- 
sons this  crop  succeeds  well  on  them,  but  in  dry  seasons 
it  will,  of  course,  grow  less  well.  The  roots  of  the  alfalfa 
tend  much  to  improve  the  physical  condition  of  these 
soils  when  they  are.  broken  up. 

Alkali  soils. — Alkali  soils  are  soils  in  which  the 
solution  of  certain  soluble  salts  is  so  strong  that  plants 
that  may  germinate  on  them  cannot  take  up  the  mois- 
ture in  the  soil,  insomuch -that  though  they  should  germi- 
nate they  soon  perish  through  lack  of  moisture.  It  is 
of  two  kinds,  known  as  white  and  black  alkali  respect- 
ively. White  alkali  is  largely  due  to  an  accumulation  of 
common  salt,  glauber  salt  and  epsom  salt.  These  give 


74  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

it  the  white  color  which  characterizes  it.  It  is  a  mix- 
ture of  the  sulphates  and  chlorides  of  soda  and  mag- 
nesia. The  most  harmful  effect  from  the  presence  of 
white  alkali  is  that  it  retards  or  entirely  prevents  ger- 
mination in  the  seeds.  Some  crops,  however,  will  stand 
as  much  as  one-tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  white  alkali. 

Black  alkali  is  due  to  the  presence  of  carbonate  of 
soda  along  with  the  aforementioned  salts.  It  dissolves 
the  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil  and  gives  it  its  dark 
color.  It  tends  to  consolidate  the  soil  in  proportion  as 
it  is  present.  In  some  instances,  because  of  the  previous 
nature  of  the  soil,  the  black  appearance  may  not  come 
to  the  surface  and  yet  there  may  be  much  carbonate  of 
soda  in  the  subsoil.  When  it  is  present  in  any  consider- 
able quantity,  the  soils  which  contain  it  are  practically 
untillable  during  the  dry  portions  of  the  year.  One- 
tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  black  alkali  will  prevent  the 
growth  of  useful  plants.  Nevertheless  in  small  amounts 
the  alkalies  are  quite  helpful  in  promoting  vegetation. 
Plants  will  be  much  stimulated  in  their  growth  because 
of  their  presence.  It  is  when  they  are  present  in  excess 
that  they  become  injurious.  They  are  more  injurious 
in  seasons  which  have  fairly  good  spring  rains  followed 
by  a  shortage  in  the  summer  rainfall.  The  salts  are 
thus  brought  into  the  root  zone  by  the  excessive  evapo- 
ration which  follows,  and  the  plaryts  then  fail  because 
of  drought.  Unwise  or  excessive  irrigation  brings  the 
alkali  to  the  surface,  and  to  the  extent  in  some  instances 
of  rendering  land  unfruitful  which  previously  may  have 
produced  good  crops.  Alkali  is  most  liable  to  accumu- 
late where  the  land  is  depressed  and  where  the  drainage 
is  not  good.  In  humid  areas  the  excess  of  these  salts  is 
washed  out  from  time  to  time,  so  that  in  these  their 
presence  is  not  usually  harmful.  Both  classes  of  alkali 
tend  to  destroy  the  soil  texture.  They  destroy  its  granu- 
lar condition,  causing  it  to  become  impervious  to  water. 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  75 

They  lead  to  a  plasticity  of  condition  when  it  is  wet, 
and  they  cause  it  to  become  cloddy  when  dry. 

Fortunately  alkali  soils  do  not  usually  cover  large 
areas.  More  frequently  they  occur  in  spots  and  espe- 
cially where  water  collects  in  low  ground  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  In  some  instances,  however,  consid- 
erable bodies  of  land  occur  that  are  more  or  less  impreg- 
nated with  alkali.  Such  soils  are  very  undesirable  for 
tillage. 

Because  of  the  difficulty  found  in  tilling  these  soils 
their  value  is  very  low  for  agricultural  uses  at  the  present 
time,  whatever  the  future  may  reveal.  Because  of  this 
such  lands  should  not  be  chosen  for  agricultural  uses 
until  more  is  known  as  to  how  they  may  be  handled. 
They  are  usually  exceedingly  rich.  The  great  obstacles 
to  their  tillage  are,  first,  the  difficulty  found  in  handling 
them,  and,  second,  the  burning  of  the  seed  or  crop  that 
may  be  sown  on  them. 

The  removal  of  alkali  when  present  in  excess  is 
seldom  an  easy  proposition  and  in  some  instances  it  is 
not  practicable.  The  first  step  in  removing  it  is  to  sup- 
ply thorough  and  complete  drainage  either  through  the 
agency  of  open  or  of  tile  drains.  In  some  instances 
black  alkali  in  solution  will  not  enter  the  latter.  In  such 
instances  it  should  be  changed  to  white.  This  is  done 
by  adding  considerable  quantities  of  gypsum ;  that  is,  of 
sulphate  of  lime,  which  Becomes  carbonate  of  lime.  When 
thus  changed,  the  alkali  may  be  washed  down  and  out 
in  the  drainage  water  which  is  thus  carried  off  in  the 
drains.  The  second  step  is  to  work  into  the  soil  from 
10  to  20  tons  per  acre  of  strawy  horse  manure  in  the 
summer  or  early  fall,  in  areas  where  much  of  the  pre- 
cipitation comes  in  the  winter,  or  in  the  spring  when  it 
comes  subsequently  to  that  time.  It  tends  to  prevent 
evaporation  from  coming  to  the  surface,  makes  the  soil 
more  open  and  porous,  and  correspondingly  reduces  the 


76  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

tendency  to  puddling  and  baking.  It  also  aids  in  sup- 
plying, the  young  plants  with  plant  food  when  the  alkali 
soil  alone  would  not  do  so.  The  third  step  is  to  grow 
such  plants  as  will  aid  in  removing  the  alkali  and  will 
at  the  same  time  give  a  profitable  return.  Sugar  beets 
will  absorb  more  of  the  salts  probably  than  any  other 
crop,  but  it  may  not  be  easy  to  secure  a  stand  of  the 
young  plants.  Among  the  small  grains  oats  have  the 
highest  adaptation  for  such  soils.  Sweet  clover  may  also 
be  used  in  removing  alkali  from  these  soils. 

Production  as  an  index  of  soils. — If  a  soil  is  to  pro- 
duce well  in  dry  areas  it  must  be  possessed  of  certain 
physical  and  chemical  characteristics.  The  former  in- 
clude: (1)  much  depth  of  soil  and  subsoil;  (2)  much 
uniformity  in  the  character  of  the  soil  grains  in  both 
soil  and  subsoil;  (3)  much  power  to  absorb  and  hold 
moisture,  and  (4)  that  blending  of  sand  and  clay  ele- 
ments which  favors  easy  tillage.  The  latter  include:  (1) 
the  large  inherent  storage  of  the  elements  of  plant  food ; 
(2)  the  elements  of  plant  food  held  in  proper  balance, 
and  (3)  the  absence  in  excess  of  such  elements  as  may 
lead  to  what  is  termed  an  alkali  condition  of  the  soil 
In  the  absence  of  physical  examination  much  may  be 
determined  by  the  character  of  the  vegetation  found 
growing  on  the  soil.  Such  vegetation  includes:  (1)  the 
growth  of  sage  brush  in  one  or  the  other  of  its  forms ; 
(2)  greasewood  and  rabbit  brush  in  varying  degrees  of 
vigor  and  plentifulness ;  (3)  sparse  vegetation,  and  (4) 
the  presence  of  various  grasses. 

Sage  brush  is  essentially  a  product  of  semi-arid  soils 
in  dry  areas.  It  is  of  several  types  which  cannot  be 
dwelt  upon  in  a  work  of  this  nature.  It  would  seem 
correct  to  say,  however,  that  the  character  of  the  sage 
brush  is  a  measure  of  the  fertility  of  semi-arid  soils. 
Where  the  brush  is  abundant  and  of  large  growth,  the 
ability  of  the  soil  to  produce  well  under  proper  condi- 


SOILS  IN  DRY  AREAS  77 

tions  of  tillage  need  not  be  questioned.  This  means 
that  where  sage  brush  is  plentiful  and  of  vigorous 
growth,  the  ability  of  the  soil  to  produce  abundantly 
need  not  be  questioned  under  correct  methods  of  tillage 
The  soil  constituents  and  the  precipitation  that  will  pro- 
duce large  and  abundant  sage  brush  will  also  produce 
large  crops  of  grain  under  proper  conditions  of  tillage. 

Plants  popularly  known  as  "greasewood"  and  "rabbit 
brush"  grow  on  certain  western  soils.  These  indicate 
that  alkali  salts  are  present  in  that  degree  that  will  in- 
terfere with  abundant  production.  Such  soils  may  be 
tilled  with  a  certain  degree  of  success,  but  not  with  that 
degree  of  success  that  is  to  be  looked  for  from,  the  tillage 
of  soils  that  are  covered  with  an  abundant  growth  of 
sage  brush  of  relatively  large  size  in  the  shrubs. 

In  other  areas,  especially  those  that  are  very  sandy 
in  texture,  the  vegetation  may  be  very  sparse.  The  sage 
brush  that  may  be  growing  on  these  is  dwarfish*  and  the 
plants  are  relatively  distant.  Such  growth  does  not 
necessarily  indicate  any  absence  of  the  essential  elements 
of  fertility  in  the  soil,  but  rather  the  absence  of  moisture. 
In  those  areas  the  production  of  grass  is  sparse  in  its 
character,  and  good  crops  cannot  usually  be  grown  in  the 
absence  of  irrigation. 

The  grasses  which  nature  produces  on  the  bench 
lands  of  the  west  are  one  of  the  surest  indications  of  the 
possible  production  that  may  be  looked  for  from  the 
judicious  tillage  of  the  lands  that  produce  those  grasses. 
Where  the  native  grasses  form  a  sod  that  is  reasonably 
dense  on  the  untilled  prairie,  the  presence  of  a  sufficient 
rainfall  for  the  production  of  good  crops  in  a  normal 
season  rieed  not  be  questioned.  Where,  however,  the 
production  of  these  grasses  is  sparse  and  limited,  a  light 
rainfall  relatively  is  to  be  looked  for.  The  precise  char- 
acter of  the  grasses  will  vary  with  the  soils  and  the 
amount  of  the  precipitation,  but  it  may  be  safely  assumed 


78  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

that  a  free  growth  of  grasses  cannot  be  maintained  in  the 
absence  of  at  least  a  reasonable  amount  of  precipitation, 
regardless  of  the  character  of  the  soil.  It  may  be  taken 
for  granted,  therefore,  that  where  the  growth  of  native 
grasses  is  normally  good,  grains  may  be  grown  there 
with  at  least  fair  success  under  proper  methods  of  tillage. 


CHAPTER  V 
SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING 

In  the  farming  of  dry  areas  the  question  of  soil 
moisture  is  all-important.  To  farm  such  areas  intelli- 
gently and  successfully  the  farmer  should  have  informa- 
tion regarding:  (1)  the  amount  and  character  of  the 
precipitation;  (2)  the  rate  of  the  evaporation;  (3)  the 
methods  by  which  water  may  be  retained  in  the  soil 
until  it  is  needed,  and  (4)  the  plants  that  may  be  grown 
with  the  most  complete  success  under  the  conditions 
that  prevail. 

When  judging  of  rainfall  and  the  use' that  is  to  be 
made  of  the  same,  the  farmer  should  have  information 
not  only  in  regard  to  the  amount  of  the  annual  precipi- 
tation, but  also  with  reference:  (1)  to  the  period  cov- 
ered by  the  records;  (2)  the  season  or  seasons  when  it 
falls,  and  (3)  the  manner  in  which  it  falls.  The  longer 
the  period  during  which  the  records  have  been  kept,  the 
more  reliable  are  they.  It  is  never  safe  to  base  the  nature 
of  the  farming  to  be  followed  on  the  record  of  precipi- 
tation for  one  or  two  seasons,  the  records  vary  so  much 
in  different  years.  In  dry  areas  the  rainfall  of  one  year 
is  sometimes  less  than  one-half  of  normal,  and  in  other 
years  it  is  greatly  in  excess  of  the  same.  The  season 
at  which  the  rain  falls  has  a  greatly  "important  influence, 
not  only  in  determining  the  crops  that  shall  be  grown, 
but  also  the  precise  character  of  the  tillage  that  should 
be  adopted.  These  differ  very  materially  when  the  bulk 
of  the  precipitation  falls  in  the  winter  in  the  one  case 
and  in  the  summer  in  the  other.  The  manner  of  the  pre- 
cipitation has  also  an  important  influence  on  the  methods 
that  should  be  adopted  in  order  to  utilize  it  to  the  best 
advantage. 


80  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

While  the  degree  of  evaporation  is  probably  less 
important  than  the  amount  of  the  precipitation,  it  is 
nevertheless  greatly  important.  In  areas  far  southward 
in  the  dry  belt,  the  precipitation  called  for  to  produce 
plant  growth  is  very  considerably  more  than  what  is 
called  for  to  effect  the  same  in  areas  of  the  same  alti- 
tude but  located  far  to  the  northward  (see  p.  95). 

The  methods  by  which  water  may  be  retained  in 
the  soil  until  it  is  needed  involve  consideration  of  the 
handling  of  the  soil  in  all  its  phases,  including:  (1)  the 
breaking  up  of  the  same;  (2)  the  subsequent  plowing; 
(3)  the  various  processes  of  tillage,  including  packing, 
discing,  harrowing  and  rolling;  (4)  subsoiling,  and  (5) 
succession  in  the  crops  that  are  to  be  grown. 

The  plants  that  may  be  grown  with  the  greatest 
success  is  in  itself  an  important  study.  The  species  of 
plants  not  only  differ  very  much  in  their  adaptation  to 
dry  areas,  but  this  is  also  true  of  varieties  of  the  same 
species.  To  attempt  to  grow  those  lacking  in  adaptation 
would  not  be  wise.  The  value  of  correct  information 
along  these  lines  cannot  easily  be  overestimated  (see 
chapter  X). 

Water  in  semi-arid  soils. — Water  occurs  in  all  soils : 
(1)  as  free  water;  (2)  capillary  water;  (3)  hygroscopic 
water,  and  (4)  the  water  that  runs  away  and  is  lost  to 
the  soil.  ,In  semi-arid  areas  the  free  water  and  the  water 
that  runs  away  is  much  less  abundant  than  in  humid 
areas.  The  distinctions  thus  given  are  not  sharply 
drawn,  as  will  be  apparent  from  what  is  said  below. 

Free  water,  sometimes  called  gravitational  water, 
is  that  which  fills  the  pore  spaces  between  the  soil  grains 
and  moves  down  through  the  soil  by  gravity.  When 
present  .in  excess  it  excludes  the  air  so  as  to  hinder 
healthy  plant  growth  and  in  many  instances  to  confine  it 
to  growth  that  is  not  of  much  value.  Passing  down  into 
the  subsoil,  it  may  reach  a  point  where  further  descent 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  81 

ceases,  and  where  ascent  may  begin,  when  it  becomes  cap- 
illary water, -which  is  very  frequently  the  case  in  semi- 
arid  soils.  In  humid  areas  it  frequently  passes  down  un- 
til it  reaches  ground  water  below,  when  it  may  move  lat- 
erally through  the  soil  until  it  reaches  some  outlet,  as  for 
instance,  through  springs.  When  the  water  table  is  not 
too  near  nor  too  distant  from  the  surface  and  when  the 
supply  is  constant,  it  renders  great  service  to  plants  by 
supplying  them  with  water  carried  to  the  roots  through 
capillary  action.  Water  occurs  thus  not  infrequently  in 
the  basins  of  semi-arid  countries,  more  especially  where 
mountains  occur.  When  thus  found  it  comes  from 
higher  levels.  In  its  downward  movement  it  finds  a 
stratum  of  subsoil  that  is  usually  sufficiently  porous  to 
admit  of  free  movement*  laterally.  Such  movement  of 
water  in  the  soil  is  spoken  of  as  seepage.  The  presence 
of  such  water  at  proper  levels  will  frequently  maintain 
good  crops  in  areas  where  they  will  completely  fail  when 
not  supplied  from  such  a  source. 

When  the  air  spaces  between  the  soil  grains  are 
completely  filled,  the  maximum  of  gravitational  water 
is  present.  The  capacity  of  dry  farm  soils  thus  to  hold 
this  water  will,  of  course,  vary,  but  on  the  average  it 
is  from  say  35  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  dry  weight  of  the 
soil.  In  humid  soils  such  water  moves  downward  after 
every  heavy  rain,  until  it  reaches  the  water  table,  that 
is,  providing  it  is  not  too  distant,  when  it  flows  out  into 
streams.  In  dry  areas  the  water  table  in  the  ordinary 
.sense  of  the  term  is  seldom  present.  In  such  areas 
it  goes  down  as  far  as  the  force  of  gravity  can  take  it, 
which  is,  of  course,  dependent  upon  the  supply.  It  is 
thus  stored  in  the  subsoil  as  capillary  water  until  drawn 
upon  by  plants  in  process  of  growth,  in  areas  that  are 
properly  cultivated.  The  great  importance  of  such  wa- 
ter to  the  dry  farmer  cannot  easily  be  overestimated, 
hence  it  should  be  his  aim  to  increase  this  supply  to  the 


82  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

greatest  extent  practicable.  This,  of  course,  can  only 
be  accomplished  by  keeping  the  soil  sufficiently  open 
to  admit  of  the  downward  passage  of  all  the  water  that 
falls,  and  by  not  cropping  so  frequently  as  to  completely 
exhaust  the  supply. 

Capillary  water  is  the  thin  film  that  surrounds  and 
adheres  to  each  soil  grain.  It  is  the  outcome  of  the  at- 
traction between  soil  grains  and  water  which  is  always 
present.  Because  of  the  almost  infinite  number  of  the 
soil  grains,  an  average  soil  may  hold  a  large  amount  of 
capillary  water.  As  the  fineness  of  the  soil  grains  in- 
creases, it  is  manifest  that  the  capacity  of  the  soil  to 
hold  capillary  water  will  increase.  Thus  it  is  that  the 
capacity  of  clay  loams  to  hold  capillary  water  is  much 
greater  than  that  of  sandy  loams.  King  is  authority  for 
the  statement  that  the  largest  amount  of  water  that  can 
be  held  in  clay  loams  varies  from  22.67  to  18.16  per  cent., 
in  sandy  loams  from  17.65  to  10.67  per  cent.,  and  in 
humus  soils  from  44.72  to  21.29  per  cent. 

The  movement  of  capillary  water  in  the  soil  is  up- 
ward when  it  moves.  It  climbs  thus  on  the  principle 
that  oil  climbs  up  through  the  pore  spaces  of  a  lamp 
wick  when  the  lamp  is  lighted.  The  supply  of  oil  that 
renews  the  flame  is  thus  maintained  until  the  oil  is  con- 
sumed, when  the  flame  must  cease.  Capillary  water  is 
thus  drawn  upon  as  the  supply  above  becomes  exhausted. 
It  may  be  drawn  up  in  two  ways :  first,  to  supply  water 
removed  from  the  surface  by  evaporation,  and,  second,  to 
renew  the  supply  called  for  by  plants  in  process  of 
growth.  If  evaporation  should  virtually  cease,  as  it  does 
frequently  in  winter  in  the  absence  of  plant  growth,  the 
movement  of  capillary  water  would  practically  cease 
for  the  time  being.  The  movement  of  water  in  the  soil 
may  be  thus  summarized:  (1)  It  enters  the  soil  in  the 
form  of  rain  or  melted  snow.  (2)  It  moves  downward 
in  the  soil  as  gravitational  water  until  it  is  converted 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  83 

into  capillary  water  or  until  it  reaches  the  water  table 
below.  (3)  The  distance  that  it  goes  down  as  gravita- 
tional water  before  it  is  converted  into  capillary  water 
will  depend  mainly  on  the  dryness  of  the  soil  and  on  the 
copious  character  or  otherwise  of  the  precipitation.  (4) 
The  rapidity  of  the  downward  movement  will  be  ac- 
celerated by  increase  in  the  degree  of  the  soil  saturation. 
(5)  It  is  being  continually  drawn  upon  by  the  influences 
of  evaporation  and  to  suppy  the  needs  of  growing 
plants.  (6)  These  drafts  lead  to  that  upward  movement 
of  the  water  known  as  capillary  movement.  (7)  When 
the  supply  of  capillary  water  is  too  small  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  plants  they  languish  proportionally  in 
their  growth.  To  maintain  such  supply  is  one  of  the 
most  important  questions  that  can  engage  the  attention 
of  the  dry  land  farmer. 

Hygroscopic  water  is  water  that  is  held  within  the 
soil  grains.  The  proportion  of  the  hygroscopic  water  in 
the  soil  varies  in  soils  and  in  localities.  In  some  very  dry 
areas  this  percentage  has  been  placed  at  less  than  2  per 
cent. 

Whether  such  water  aids  to  any  extent  in  promoting 
plant  growth  is  a  disputed  question.  It  may  aid  in 
keeping  the  soil  cooler  than  it  would  otherwise  be  in 
warm  areas.  It  may  also  exercise  some  influence  in 
bringing  plant  food  into  solution,  but  there  is  not  enough 
of  it  present  in  the  soil  to  make  it  a  carrying  agent. 

The  run  off  waters  are  those  that  flow  away:  (1)  in 
quick  melting  of  the  winter  snows ;  (2)  from  the  down- 
pour of  torrential  rains,  and  (3)  from  the  continuance 
of  prolonged  rainfall.  Especially  in  areas  where  "Chi- 
nook" winds  prevail,  the  snow  melts  so  rapidly  that 
much  of  it  runs  away  before  it  can  sink  into  the  soil. 
In  much  of  the  semi-arid  country  rain  frequently  falls  in 
showers  that  are  dashing  in  character.  In  some  locali- 
ties these  assume  the  character  of  a  downpour.  Occa- 


84  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

sionally  cloudbursts  occur,  and  when  they  do  the  rain 
falls  in  sheets.  When  it  falls  thus  much  of  the  water  is 
lost  to  the  soil,  much  of  the  soil  is  also  removed  to  lower 
levels  and  the  gullying  of  the  land  becomes  more  pro- 
nounced. The  aim  should  be,  of  course,  to  prevent  such 
loss  as  far  as  this  may  be  found  practicable  (see  p.  128). 
The  loss  from  the  third  source  mentioned  is  seldom 
serious,  as  prolonged  and  heavy  rains  seldom  occur  in 
dry  areas. 

Functions  of  water  in  soils. — These  include:  (1)  dis- 
solving plant  food  in  the  soil ;  (2)  carrying  the  food 
dissolved  to  the  plant,  and  (3)  maintaining  proper  growth 
in  the  plant.  These  functions  can  only  be  found  at  their 
best  in  soils  of  proper  texture,  well  supplied  with  the 
elements  of  plant  food,  free  from  matter  hurtful  to  plant 
growth  and  in  proper  condition  as  to  tilth ;  water  must 
also  be  present  in  sufficient  quantities  in  the  soil  and 
subsoil. 

Plants  take  their  food  from  the  soil  through  the 
roots.  These  cannot  appropriate  the  food  unless  it  is 
held  in  solution.  The  water  which  surrounds  the  soil 
grains  in  the  form  of  a  film  dissolves  the  food  so  that 
the  plants  can  feed  upon  it.  When  the  plant  food  is 
thus  liberated  in  excess  of  the  needs  of  the  plants  or  at 
a  season  when  plants  are  not  growing,  it  is  carried  down 
in  solution  in  the  gravity  water.  Should  this  gravity 
water  reach  the  water  table  below,  it  is  much  liable  to 
be  carried  away  in  the  drainage  water.  Should  it  be 
absorbed  in  the  lower  soil  along  with  the  capillary  wa- 
ter, it  may  be  again  carried  to  the  area  where  the  roots 
of  plants  feed  in  the  upward  movement  of  the  capillary 
water,  and  it  may  also  be  reinforced  by  plant  food  lib- 
erated in  the  lower  levels  that  have  been  reached  by 
moisture. 

The  food  solutions  are  carried  to  the  plants  through 
the  root  hairs  which  ramify  through  the  pore  spaces  of 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  85 

the  soil,  hence  the  great  benefit  of  plant  growth  by  main- 
taining as  far  as  this  may  be  possible  a  suitable  degree 
of  tilth  in  soils.  The  rootlets  cannot  readily  penetrate 
compact  soils.  The  food  thus  absorbed  is  carried  up 
from  cell  to  cell  in  the  plants  to  the  leaves,  where  it  is 
elaborated  into  food  suitable  for  the  plants.  It  is  then 
distributed  to  those  portions  of  the  plants  that  are  in 
need  of  it  to  enable  them  to  make  further  growth. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  if  plants  are  to  be  main- 
tained in  vigorous  growth,  the  food  thus  carried  in  solu- 
tion must  be  present  in  sufficient  supply.  The  growth 
made  will  be  restricted,  other  things  being  equal,  in 
proportion  as  the  necessary  food  is  lacking.  If  not  sup- 
plied in  sufficent  degree  to  continue  growth,  the  cells 
become  impaired  and  the  leaves  wilt.  When  this  hap- 
pens, growth  subsequently  in  many  instances  cannot  be 
secured,  and  if  secured  it  is  never  so  vigorous  again. 
Any  period  of  stagnation  in  the  growth  of  the  plant 
hinders  future  development.  In  order  to  sustain  good 
growth  the  food  in  the  soil  must  first  be  held  in  solution 
by  the  capillary  water  in  the  same,  hence  the  transcendent 
importance  of  a  sufficiency  of  this  element  in  dry  areas. 

How  soil  moisture  may  be  lost. — It  may  be  lost :  (1) 
by  evaporation  at  the  surface ;  (2)  by  transpiration 
through  plant  growth,  and  (3)  by  leaching  out  through 
the  subsoil.  These  influences  may  operate  singly  at  dif- 
ferent times,  or  they  may  all  operate  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  The  first  is  operative  chiefly  in  the  season 
of  mild  and  warm  weather  and  the  second  only  during 
the  growing  period.  The  third  may  be  operative  at  any 
time,  but  under  some  conditions  in  dry  areas  it  is  not 
operative  at  all  at  any  time.  The  greatest  loss,  how- 
ever, in  much  of  the  dry  area,  especially  where  the  soil 
has  not  been  tilled,  occurs  in  the  run  off  water  that  does 
not  enter  the  soil  at  all. 


86  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Evaporation  at  the  surface  means  the  loss  of  mois- 
ture from  the  soil  as  it  climbs  up  through  the  pore  spaces 
in  the  same  to  the  surface,  where  it  becomes  vaporized 
as  it  becomes  incorporated  with  the  air.  To  prevent 
loss  from  this  source  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
the  farmer  in  dry  areas,  hence  the  extent  to  which  this 
question  is  dwelt  upon  below.  Under  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  the  amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil  is 
less  than  could  be  utilized  to  the  best  advantage.  If 
this  should  be  lost  or  any  large  portion  of  it,  the  farmer 
is  undone  for  that  season.  In  dry  farming  the  handling 
of  the  soil  in  a  way  that  will  cause  the  precipitation  fall- 
ing upon  the  soil  to  enter  the  same  to  the  greatest 
extent  possible  is  fundamental,  and  of  no  less  importance 
are  measures  that  will  tend  to  prevent  the  escape  of  mois- 
ture to  the  greatest  extent  possible  until  it  has  been 
utilized  in  growing  plants. 

Loss  of  moisture  by  transpiration  means  the  passing 
of  moisture  into  the  air  through  the  leaves  of  the  plant 
which  has  been  taken  from  the  soil  by  the  roots.  This 
process  is  continuous  while  growth  lasts.  It  is  a  loss 
that  cannot  be  lessened  very  much  by  those  who  till 
the  soil.  But  the  harm  that  may  follow  to  succeeding 
crops  may  be  minimized  and  in  many  instances  entirely 
prevented  by  wisely  regulating  the  rotation  followed. 

Loss  of  moisture  by  leaching  is  of  course  the  loss  of 
water  that  has  passed  down  through  the  soil  into  the 
subsoil,  whence  it  moves  on  and  out  as  drainage  water 
into  streams.  It  seldom  occurs  in  dry  areas,  because 
of  the  small  quantity  that  enters  the  soil.  In  humid 
areas  the  water  that  passes  down  through  the  soil  carries 
with  it  in  solution  much  plant  food  that  has  been  taken 
out  of  the  soil.  The  richer  the  soil  and  the  more  abun- 
dant the  precipitation  the  greater  is  the  loss  from  this 
source.  This  explains,  in  part  at  least,  why  soils  in  areas 
of  much  rainfall  frequently  call  for  much  fertilization, 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  87 

while  crops  are  being  grown  upon  them.     The  farmer 
in  dry  areas  is  usually  spared  loss  from  this-  source. 

In  some  instances,  nevertheless,  soils  may  be  ex- 
cessively wet,  as  when,  for  instance,  seepage  waters  flow 
into  depressions  from  a  subterranean  source.  If  these 
are  possessed  of  much  clay,  they  usually  become  hard 
when  the  water  evaporates  sufficiently  to  admit  of  til-ling 
them.  When  plowed  they  turn  up  cloddy,  and  much 
labor  is  involved  in  pulverizing  them.  If  plowed  when 
wet  they  bake.  •  Moreover,  they  are  much  liable  to  contain 
substances  that  are  injurious  to  vegetation,  as  an  excess 
of  salts.  These  soils  are  undesirable,  as  has  been  al- 
ready shown  (see  p.  73). 

Loss  of  moisture  by  evaporation. — The  chief  in- 
fluences that  lead  to  the  loss  of  soil  moisture  by  evapo- 
ration are:  (1)  sunshine;  (2)  dry  and  warm  air,  and 
(3)  wind.  The  sun  shining  down  on  moist  soil  turns  the 
moisture  near  the  surface  into  vapor,  which  rises  and 
mingles  with  the  air.  The  rapidity  of  the  process  is 
proportionate  to  the  heat  of  the  sunshine  and  the  de- 
gree of  moisture  in  the  soil.  The  influence  of  sunshine 
as  a  factor  in  removing  moisture  by  evaporation  is 
readily  seen  by  comparing  the  quick  drying  of  the  sur- 
face soil  after  rain  when  exposed  to  bright  sunshine 
with  the  slow  drying  of  soil  in  a  similar  condition  on 
a  cloudy  day.  Sunshine  is  the  most  powerful  factor  in 
thus  removing  moisture.  In  dry  areas  such  removal 
should  be  specially  guarded  against,  because  of  the  great 
abundance  of  the  sunshine. 

Air  penetrates  the  soil  to  a  greater  or  lesser  depth, 
according  to  its  density  or  porosity.  It  more  readily 
penetrates  between  the  soil  grains  in  a  newly  cultivated 
soil.  As  it  passes  between  these,  more  or  less  of  the  mois- 
ture which  adheres  to  the  soil  grains  becomes  incorpor- 
ated with  the  air  thus  diffused  in  the  soil,  and  escapes 
with  it  into  the  atmosphere  as  a  result  of  constant  move- 


88  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ment  of  air.  The  degree  of  the  soil  moisture  thus  re- 
moved is  increased  with  increase  in  the  dryness  and 
warmth  of  the  air.  Warm  air  will  hold  several  times 
more  vapor  than  cold  air.  As  the  air  is  usually  more  dry 
in  dry  areas  than  in  humid  ones,  the  loss  from  this  source 
will  be  much  more  in  the  former,  and,  because  of  the  in- 
creased heat  of  summer,  it  will  be  much  greater  at  that 
season  than  in  winter. 

Wind  is  a  strong  factor  in  removing  moisture  from 
soils,  especially  moisture  on  or  near  the  surface.  The 
influence  of  wind  in  thus  taking  up  moisture  may  be 
clearly  seen  in  the  rapidity  with  which  water  is  removed 
from  the  highway  by  strong  wind  blowing,  after  rain. 
Winds  are  usually  more  prevalent  in  dry  than  in  humid 
areas,  because  of  the  comparatively  treeless  condition  of 
the  former,  hence  the  relative  loss  of  the  moisture  from 
this  source  is  greater.  These  influences  frequently  act 
in  conjunction,  and  when  they  do  the  loss  of  moisture 
from  the  soil  will  be  very  rapid  in  the  absence  of  meas- 
ures to  prevent  it. 

The  extent  to  which  soil  moisture  is  lost  through 
evaporation  will  be  proportionate:  (1)  to  the  extent  to 
which  the  agencies  of  air  and  wind  are  operative  in  re- 
moving it;  (2)  to  the  extent  to  which  other  influences 
are  present  that  facilitate  such  loss,  and  (3)  to  the  ex- 
tent to  which  soil  conditions  are  absent  that  would  tend 
to  lessen  and  prevent  the  same. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  apparent  that 
evaporation  will  be  much  greater  in  southern  than  in 
northern  areas  of  the  dry  belt.  In  the  former  the  sun- 
shine is  hotter,  and  the  humidity  of  the  air  is  less.  The 
winds  may  not  be  any  stronger  but  they  are  warmer- 
The  annual  average  evaporation  of  surface  water  in 
dry  areas  is  usually  several  times  greater  than  the  an- 
nual precipitation.  In  the  Panhandle  of  Texas,  the  annu- 
al evaporation  has  been  placed  at  about  54  inches,  where- 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  89 

as  along  the  Canadian  boundary  in  North  Dakota  and 
Montana  it  is  not  more  than  half  that  amount.  It  is  even 
more  imperative,  therefore,  that  measures  shall  be  taken 
promptly  and  persistently  to  prevent  the  escape  of  soil 
moisture  in  areas  far  south  than  in  those  far  north. 

Prominent  among  the  other  influences  that  aid  the 
escape  of  soil  moisture  in  the  absence  of  preventive 
measures  are  showers,  especially  those  that  fall  fre- 
quently and  in  small  quantities.  Water  climbs  upward 
in  the  soil  by  capillary  attraction.  The  more  thin  the 
film  of  water  that  surrounds  the  soil  grains  the  more 
slowly  does  it  move  upward.  Should  the  soil  be  dry, 
the  upward  movement  ceases.  Should  rain  fall  and 
moisten  the  soil  down  to  where  soil  moisture  is  .still 
present,  the  upward  movement  begins  again.  Water 
moves  up  to  the  surface  and  unchecked  mingles  with 
the  air.  If  this  movement  is  not  checked  by  stirring  the 
surface  soil,  much  moisture  will  soon  escape.  Such  stir- 
ring of  the  soil  is  much  more  liable  to  be  neglected  after 
light  than  after  heavy  rains,  hence  the  hazard  that  light 
showers  will  bring  to  dry  farming  in  this  way. 

Subsurface  packing  of  the  soil  may  also  facilitate 
the  escape  of  soil  moisture  from  below,  since  it  facili- 
tates the  ascent  of  the  same  by  making  it  possible  for 
it  to  climb  more  readily  toward  the  surface  than  would 
be  possible  in  the  absence  of  such  packing.  Any  influ- 
ence that  will  facilitate  the  ascent  of  soil  moisture  will 
facilitate  the  escape  of  the  same  in  the  absence  of  hin- 
dering influences. 

Weeds  also  pump  water  out  of  the  soil  in  the  proc- 
ess of  growth,  hence  the  loss  of  moisture  from  this  source 
will  be  proportionate  to  the  extent  to  which  weeds  are 
allowed  to  grow.  The  same  is  true  of  useful  plants  in 
their  growth,  but  with  the  former,  there  is  no  compensa- 
tion as  with  the  latter. 


90  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  measures  that  may  be  adopted  to  prevent  or 
at  least  to  lessen  the  escape  of  soil  moisture  include  the 
following:  (1)  The  maintenance  of  a  dust  mulch  on 
land  that  is  being  fallowed;  (2)  the  stirring  or  cultivat- 
ing of  the  soil  that  has  been  sown  or  planted,  and  (3) 
the  artificial  shading  of  the  soil. 

A  dust  or  soil  mulch  is  a  dry  layer  of  earth  cover- 
ing the  surface  of  the  soil.  It  is  formed  by  pulverizing 
the  surface  after  the  land  has  been  plowed.  It  may  also 
be  formed  by  discing  stubble  land  in  the  autumn  or 
spring,  and  by  stirring  fall-plowed  land  in  the  early 
spring,  that  has  settled  upon  itself.  The  implement 
chiefly  used  in  making  it  is  the  spike-tooth  harrow,  but 
on  cloddy  soils  the  aid  of  the  roller  or  the  planker  may 
be  called  in.  On  hard  surfaces  the  disc  should  precede 
the  harrow.  The  process  is  frequently  spoken  of  as  sum- 
mer tillage.  The  depth  of  the  mulch  is  from  2  to  3 
inches.  The  fineness  of  the  same  is  dependent  to  some 
extent  on  the  character  of  the  soil.  On  some  soils,  espe- 
cially those  that  are  granular,  it  does  not  readily  become 
too  fine.  On  others,  as  fine  clays,  the  excessive  use  of 
the  harrow  may  make  the  soil  so  fine  that  it  is  not  readily 
penetrated  by  rain.  In  clay  soils  covered  with  a  dust 
mulch,  the  loss  by  evaporation  is  greater  than  in  those 
covered  by  a  mulch  of  coarse  particles,  as  coarse  sand, 
for  the  reason  that  water  climbs  more  readily  in  fine  than 
in  coarse  soil  particles. 

Rain  is  the  chief  agent  in  destroying  the  efficiency 
of  the  dust  mulch.  It  does  so:  (1)  by  tending  to  restore 
the  pore  connections  between  the  dust  mulch  and  the 
soil  below,  and  (2)  by  the  numerous  cracks  which  fol- 
low in  many  soils  from  -the  rapid  drying  of  a  more  or 
less  impacted  surface.  It  is  greatly  important  that  the 
soil  mulch  shall  be  renewed  after  rains,  and  especially 
after  heavy  rain  in  many  of  the  soils  of  the  west.  The 
aim  should  be  to  make  such  renewal  at  the  most  pro- 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  91 

pitious  time,  that  is,  when  the  soil  has  dried  enough  to 
prevent  it  from  sticking  to  the  harrow,  but  not  enough 
to  cause  it  to  crumble  into  particles  too  fine.  Of  course 
in  practise  this  cannot  always  be  done  when  very  large 
areas  are  to  be  harrowed. 

The  chief  use  of  the  mulch  is  'to  prevent  the  loss  of 
soil  moisture.  This  loss  is  far  greater  in  the  upper  layer 
of  the  soil  than  in  those  layers  that  are  lower,  hence  the 
great  importance  of  maintaining  the  soil  mulch  on  sum- 
mer tilled  lands.  But  it  may  also  serve  to  aid  in  the 
increase  of  the  moisture  content  of  the  soil,  and  in  put- 
ting the  soil  in  a  condition  that  will  favor  the  active 
working  of  the  bacteria  that  inhabit  the  same.  The  first 
result  follows  from  the  added  moisture  through  rain, 
which,  because  of  the  tillage,  finds  easy  penetration  into 
the  soil.  The  amount  of  such  accumulation  will  be  pro- 
portionate to  the  amount  of  precipitation,  and  to  the 
effectiveness  of  the  measures  for  preventing  its  escape. 
All  the  moisture  that  enters  the  soil  cannot  be  saved,  but 
a  very  large  proportion  of  it  can,  as  much  in  some  in- 
stances as  50  per  cent.  The  second  follows  from  the 
moisture  thus  maintained  in  the  soil  and  the  aeration 
given. 

•  In  some  soils  and  under  some  conditions,  the  drying 
of  the  surface  soil  is  so  rapid  and  complete  that  this  in 
itself  forms  a  mulch,  so  to  speak,  through  which  moisture 
cannot  pass  up  from  below.'  This  explains  why  moist 
soil  may  sometimes  be  found  under  soil  that  is  quite 
dry  on  the  surface.  Such  a  condition  may  also  be  brought 
about  where  the  temperature  is  high,  the  sunshine  abun- 
dant and  the  relative  humidity  low. 

The  results  that  follow  the  judicious  cultivation  of 
growing  crops  are  virtually  the  same  in  kind  as  those 
that  follow  the  maintenance  of  the  soil  mulch  on  land 
that  is  fallow.  The  cultivation  is  given  with  the  har- 
row when  applied  to  cereals  and  with  both  the  harrow 


92  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

and  cultivator  when  applied  to  such  crops  as  corn  and 
potatoes.  The  cultivation  also  seeks  the  destruction  of 
weeds,  which  will  sap  moisture  from  the  soil  more  com- 
pletely when  they  are  allowed  to  grow  numerously  than 
any  other  agency.  So  valuable  and  so  effective  are  these 
methods  of  maintaining  soil  moisture  that  in  dry  areas 
they  are  practised  on  crops  by  growing  them  in  rows 
though  not  usually  grown  thus,  as  alfalfa  for  instance, 
in  order  to  make  such  cultivation  possible.  When  ap- 
plied to  small  grains,  however,  the  yields  have  not  been 
found  sufficient  to  justify  the  practise. 

Shading  the  soil  and  thus  protecting  it  from  evapo- 
ration may  be  incidental  or  it  may  be  designedly  done. 
It  is  incidental  when  it  is  the  result  of  crop  growth,  as 
when  it  is  furnished  by  the  cereals  when  too  advanced 
in  growth  to  admit  of  harrowing  them  longer,  by  corn 
and  other  cultivated  crop's  when  the  plants  have  attained 
a  considerable  size,  and  by  the  high-cut  stubbles  of  ma- 
ture grain  that  has  been  harvested.  It  is  done  through 
design  when  the  soil  or  the  crop  is  strewn  with  straw, 
manure  or  some  other  substance.  Such  a  method  of  pre- 
venting the  escape  of  moisture  has  been  found  effective 
in  a  considerable  degree  when  applied  to  orchard  and 
other  trees,  and  even  to  grass  lands.  The  reduction  of 
evaporation  by  a  broad-leafed  crop,  as  corn,  when  well 
grown,  is  very  considerable. 

Loss  of  soil  moisture  by  transpiration. — Soil  mois- 
ture may  be  lost,  as  previously  intimated,  in  three  ways, 
viz.:  (1)  by  leaching;  (2)  by  evaporation,  and  (3)  by 
transpiration.  The  loss  by  leaching,  as  has  been  shown, 
seldom  occurs  in  dry  areas.  The  loss  by  evaporation,  of- 
tentimes serious,  has  just  been  discussed.  The  loss  by 
transpiration  through  the  leaves  of  plants  is  several 
times  greater  than  the  loss  that  usually  occurs  by  evapo- 
ration. 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  93 

Plants  in  the  process  of  growth  take  up  water  from 
the  soil  by  means  of  minute  root  hairs  at  the  extremities 
of  the  rootlets.  The  water  thus  taken  into  the  plant  con- 
tains more  or  less  of  certain  elements  of  plant  food 
taken  from  the  soil.  It  passes  from  cell  to  cell  or  up 
through  tubes  within  the  plant  until  it  reaches  the  leaves, 
whence  it  passes  off  into  the  air.  Through  the  medium 
of  water,  therefore,  the  elements  concerned  in  promot- 
ing growth  are  distributed  to  all  parts  of  the  plant.  As 
the  water  passes  off  into  the  air,  there  is  a  demand  for 
more  water,  to  sustain  the  processes  of  growth,  hence 
the  demand  upon  the  water  supply  in  the  soil  continues 
until  growth  is  completed. 

Many  things  are  yet  to  be  learned  about  the  tran- 
spiration of  water  through  plants.  It  would  seem  safe  to 
say,  however,  that  it  is  influenced  by  the  following  con- 
ditions: It  is  increased:  (1)  by  increased  temperature; 
(2)  by  decreased  humidity;  (3)  by  increase  in  the 
velocity  of  the  wind;  (4)  by  increase  in  the  sunlight;  (5) 
by  increasing  age  in  the  plant  up  to  the  blossoming 
stage,  and  (6)  by  increase  in  the  strength  and  the  diffu- 
sion of  the  root  system.  It  is  very  evident,  therefore, 
that  transpiration  from  plants  is  more  rapid,  other  things 
being  equal,  in  dry  than  in  humid  climates.  It  is  de- 
creased: (1)  by  increase  in  the  soil  water  of  the  food 
elements  which  the  plants  require  to  properly  sustain 
them,  and  (2)  by  adaptation  in  the  plants  to  the  require- 
ments of  growth  under  dry  conditions.  This  last  con- 
sideration is  one  of  great  moment,  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  future  of  dry  farming. 

The  farmer  can  do  but  little  directly  to  reduce  tran- 
spiration in  the  crops.  The  greater  the  supply  of  plant 
food  maintained  in  the  soil,  and  the  more  available  its 
condition,  the  less  will  be  the  relative  amount  of  water 
taken  from  the  soil.  This  emphasizes  the  wisdom  on 
the  part  of  the  dry  land  farmer  in  maintaining  a  liberal 


94  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

supply  of  plant  food  in  the  soil  in  a  readily  available 
form.  This  in  dry  areas  may  be  accomplished  meanwhile 
by  that  high-class  cultivation  which  will  insure  the  abun- 
dant liberation  of  fertility. 

While  not  very  much  can  be  done  to  regulate  the 
amount  of  water  transpired  by  individual  plants,  the 
farmer  can  do  much  to  regulate  the  amount  of  water 
taken  from  the  soil  in  the  aggregate,  by  regulating  crop 
growth,  and  he  can  increase  the  amount  of  water  avail- 
able for  transpiration.  He  may  influence  the  amount  of 
water  that  shall  be  taken  from  the  soil :  First,  by  decid- 
ing as  to  the  crops  that  he  will  grow,  some  of  which  take 
more  and  some  less  moisture  from  the  soil.  Second,  he 
may  regulate  the  thickness  or  the  thinness  of  the  stand 
of  the  plants  in  a  given  crop.  Third,  when  he  finds  that 
a  crop  that  has  been  sown  inopportunely  is  not  going  to 
prove  remunerative,  he  should  at  once  remove  or  bury 
it,  and  thus  stop  the  drain  on  soil  moisture  to  no  pur- 
pose that  is  being  made  by  the  plants  that  compose  the 
crop.  The  amount  of  water  available  for  transpiration 
may,  of  course,  be  increased  by  that  cultivation  which 
will  encourage  the  entrance  of  water  into  the  soil  and 
which  will  retard  its  escape  when  it  has  so  entered. 
Experiment  has  shown  that  the  amount  of  water  called 
for  to  produce  a  pound  of  dry  matter  in  various  soils  is 
much  greater  in  those  that  are  not  well  cultivated  than 
in  those  which  are.  Experiments  conducted  in  Utah 
have  proved  that  the  summer-fallow  materially  reduces 
the  amount  of  water  called  for  by  plants  as  compared 
with  land  that  has  been  continuously  cropped. 

As  cultivation  extends  in  dry  areas  and  as  it  becomes 
more  carefully  conducted,  the  store  of  moisture  in  the 
soil  will  increase ;  as  the  crop  area  increases,  transpira- 
tion through  the  growing  of  crops  will  also  increase. 
To  such  an  extent  will  this  increase  prevail,  that  it  should 
exercise  a  material  influence  by  increasing  the  humidity 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  95 

in  the  air,  and  this  in  turn  should  tend  to  lessen  the  in- 
jury done  by  the  hot  winds  that  sometimes  prevail  in 
dry  areas.  This  increase  in  transpiration  has  led  to  the 
hope  that  it  will  result  in  an  increase  in  the  precipitation, 
but  the  evidence  based  on  the  results  does  not  sustain 
this  view.  The  influence  emanating  from  this  increased 
transpiration  does  not  appear  to  be  enough  to  affect  the 
precipitation,  at  least  to  any  very  appreciable  extent. 

Other  influences  that  affect  evaporation. — Among 
the  influences  that  affect  evaporation  in  addition  to  those 
that  have  been  dwelt  upon  are:  (1)  the  influence  result- 
ing from  latitude;  (2)  the  influence  resulting  from  alti- 
tude, and  (3)  that  resulting  from  the  store  of  humus  in 
the  soil.  In  the  discussion  of  this  question  these  influ- 
ences cannot  be  ignored,  because  of  the  important  bear- 
ing which  they  exercise  upon  evaporation. 

Latitude  influences  evaporation  because  of  the  in- 
fluence which  it  exerts  upon  temperature.  Evaporation 
increases  with  increase  in  the  temperature.  This  ex- 
plains why  evaporation  is  greatest  when  the  summer 
heat  is  greatest,  other  things  being  equal,  and  why  it  is 
least  in  cool  and  cold  weather.  The  loss  of  soil 
moisture,  therefore,  in  northern  latitudes,  will  be  pro- 
portionately increased,  other  things  being  equal,  with 
increase  in  the  temperature  which  follows  as  the  result 
of  the  lower  latitude  of  the  locality. 

The  influence  of  altitude  is  probably  no  less  potent 
than  that  of  latitude.  With  increase  in  the  altitude 
comes  decrease  in  the  temperature,  and  with  decrease 
in  the  temperature  comes  a  lessened  transpiration.  Ele- 
vation alone  may  result  in  protecting  a  crop  from  the 
baneful  influences  of  a  temperature  that  will  wither  the 
same  in  lower  altitudes,  notwithstanding  that  these  may 
be  in  the  same  latitude.  Thus  it  is  that  betimes  a  crop 
will  be  withered  in  a  low  valley  by  hot  winds  which  do 
not  harm  the  same  on  a  high  altitude  in  proximity  there- 


96  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

to,  the  latitude  being  the  same.  Because  of  the  influence 
thus  exerted  by  latitude  and  altitude  on  evaporation,  it 
has  been  claimed  by  high  authority  that  15  inches  of  an- 
nual precipitation  in  Dakota  or  Montana  will  be  as  help- 
ful in  sustaining  vegetation  as  20  inches  in  southwestern 
Nebraska  and  northwestern  Kansas. 

The  influence  of  humus  in  the  soil  is  very  potent 
on  the  transpiration  that  will  result,  not  only  because  it 
lessens  transpiration,  but  because  it  increases  the  mois- 
ture supply  available  for  transpiration.  A  soil  well  stored 
with  humus  will  sustain  plant  growth  without  languish- 
ing in  a  time  of  drought  for  a  much  longer  period  than 
a  soil  not  thus  prepared  to  resist  the  influences  of  drought. 
But  the  best  methods  of  storing  the  soil  with  humus  in 
dry  areas  have  but  imperfectly  been  worked  out.  The 
crops  that  are  best  fitted  to  increase  the  humus  supply 
and  the  best  methods  of  growing  them  are  as  yet  but 
imperfectly  understood  (see  p.  420). 

The  importance  of  subsoil  moisture. — The  chief 
function  of  water  in  the  subsoil  in  dry  areas  is  to  fur- 
nish a  supply  to  the  growing  crops,  when  the  supply 
from  the  surface  soil  is  insufficient  to  meet  the  needs  of 
the  same.  This  is  done  by  entering  the  root  hairs  that 
penetrate  between  the  subsoil  particles,  and  by  furnish- 
ing additional  water  drawn  from  lower  depths  through 
capillary  movement.  Winter  wheat  and  winter  rye  are 
frequently  brought  safely  to  maturity  through  water 
from  this  source.  Crops  of  spring  grain  may  grow  vig- 
orously for  a  time  and  then  fail  because  of  the  shortage 
of  water  in  the  soil  near  the  surface,  whereas  such  fail- 
ure would  not  have  occurred  had  a  sufficiency  of  moisture 
been  present  in  the  subsoil.  But  the  fact  should  never 
be  forgotten  that  the  upward  movement  of  subsoil  mois- 
ture will  carry  it  into  the  air  when  not  taken  up  by  grow- 
ing plants,  or  when  such  escape  is  not  prevented  bv  the 
presence  of  a  dust  mulch  on  the  surface. 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  97 

Such  water  serves  the  further  purpose  of  facilitat- 
ing the  passage  of  water  downward  to  lower  levels  where 
it  enters  the  soil.  Water  penetrates  a  moist  soil  more 
quickly  than  a  dry  one,  hence  the  maintenance  of  a  sup- 
ply of  water  in  the  subsoil  tends  to  deepen  the  area  of 
such  reserve  supply.  Experiment  has  shown  that  in 
well  managed  soils  in  dry  areas  the  moisture  in  the  soil 
in  the  spring  is  considerably  more  than  it  was  in  the  au- 
tumn, but  this  result  did  not  follow  when  the  surface 
soil  was  hard.  Subsoil  moisture  is  an  important  regu- 
lator of  crop  growth,  hence  the  great  wisdom  of  trying 
to  increase  the  supply  of  the  same.  Injury  from  water 
carried  up  from  lower  depths  occurs  only  when  sub- 
stances hurtful  to  plant  life,  as  alkali,  are  present  in  the 
subsoil  water. 

To  get  water  down  into  the  subsoil  is  one  of  the  first 
considerations  that  should  engage  the  attention  of  the 
farmer,  and  to  increase  the  storage  of  the  same  should 
be  an  object  of  constant  solicitude.  The  following  are 
chief  among  the  methods  by  which  it  may  be  accom- 
plished :  (1)  by  opening  up  the  soil  deeply  when  break- 
ing it;  (2)  by  keeping  it  fallow  the  first  season;  (3)  by 
maintaining  the  surface  soil  in  that  condition  which  will 
admit  of  easy  access  of  water  when  it  falls ;  (4)  by  grow- 
ing alfalfa  in  the  rotation  every  few  years;  (5)  by  not 
cropping  too  freely  with  small  grains ;  (6)  by  preventing 
water  from  running  away  over  the  surface. 

Opening  up  the  soil  deeply  at  the  first  is  one  of  the 
most  effective  methods  of  getting  water  down  into  the 
subsoil.  Usually  this  is  not  easily  done  and  it  is  costly. 
The  more  deeply  the  soil  is  stirred  when  breaking  it  or 
by  subsoiling,  the  more  deeply  will  water  penetrate  in 
the  average  season.  But  if  the  farmer  crops  the  land  the 
first  season,  tbe  crop  takes  from  it  in  its  growth  mois- 
ture that  would  otherwise  have  gone  down  into  the  sub- 
soil. Those  who  can  .afford  it,  therefore,  should  allow 


98  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

breaking  to  lie  fallow  the  first  season,  whether  the  land 
is  plowed  in  the  autumn  or  in  the  spring.  The  surface 
soil  is  kept  in  condition  for  the  easy  access  of  water 
when  it  is  subjected  to  the  summer-fallowing  process, 
or  when  a  cultivated  crop  is  grown  upon  it.  The  use 
of  the  disc  on  stubble  land  after  harvest  aids  materially 
in  the  storage  of  water  in  the  soil.  When  land  is 
being  fallowed  or  a  cultivated  crop  is  being  grown  upon 
it,  the  forming  of  a  crust  a  few  inches  below  the  surface 
should  be  guarded  against.  If  present  it  should  be 
broken  up  by  deep  cultivation.  When  alfalfa  comes  fre- 
quently in  the  rotation  the  spaces  occupied  by  the  de- 
cayed roots  form  ready  channels  for  the  easy  descent  of 
water  into  the  subsoil.  If  the  farmer  persists  in  growing 
small  grains  on  the  land  year  after  year  where  the  pre- 
cipitation is  light,  the  soil  moisture  will  be  drawn  upon 
to  such  an  extent  that  none  will  be  left  to  enter  the  sub- 
soil. The  run  off  waters  may  be  partially  held  until 
they  enter  the  soil,  but  loss  from  this  source  may  not 
be  wholly  prevented  in  all  instances.  Loss  from  this 
source  only  occurs  when  moisture  accumulates  within 
short  periods  of  time,  as  when  rain  comes  in  downpours 
or  snows  melt  suddenly.  The  plowing,  discing  and  har- 
rowing of  sloping  land  along  the  slope  will  lessen  the 
loss.  Keeping  surfaces  from  baking  will  do  the  same. 
Stubbles  also  are  helpful.  It  is  not  possible  under  any 
conditions  to  save  all  the  water  that  enters  the  soil, 
but  much  of  it  may  be  saved.  When  the  subsoil  is 
moistened  to  low  depths,  the  roots  will  feed  deeply  save 
where  there  is  an  excess  of  water  in  the  lower  soil. 

In  humid  areas  the  question  is  not  usually  how  to 
retain  subsoil  moisture,  but  how  to  get  rid  of  the  excess. 
In  dry  areas  the  former  will  always  be  a  burning  ques- 
tion. The  subsoil  moisture,  like  the  soil  moisture,  is 
drawn  upon  from  two  sources.  One  is  the  needs  of  the 
crops  that  are  grown.  The  other  is  the  influences  con- 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  FARMING  99 

cerned  in  evaporation.  Draughts  from  the  first  source 
can  only  be  partially  prevented  while  grain  crops  oc- 
cupy the  soil.  But  it  may  be  regulated  by  regulating  the 
number  of  the  crops  to  be  grown  and  also  the  kind  of 
the  crops.  Those  from  the  second  source  (see  p.  165) 
may  be  greatly  lessened  but  not  entirely  prevented  by 
the  maintenance  of  the  soil  mulch  even  as  persistently 
as  this  may  be  practicable.  Under  no  circumstances  can 
it  be  maintained  so  continuously  as  to  entirely  prevent 
loss  from  evaporation.  Even  on  the  carefully  managed 
summer-fallow  there  will  be  loss.  When  rain  falls,  water 
is  taken  from  and  near  the  surface  before  the  mulch  can 
be  renewed  by  using  the  harrow.  Small  showers  and 
frequent,  aid  in  such  escape.  Vapor  comes  up  from  be- 
low in  hot  weather  and  cracks  are  formed  through  which 
moisture  escapes.  There  are  periods  when  a  dust  mulch 
cannot  be  maintained,  as  when  grain  crops  are  in  the  ad- 
vanced stages  of  growth.  When  the  land  is  plowed  in 
the  autumn  some  moisture  is  lost  from  a  damp  surface, 
and  the  same  is  true  in  the  early  spring.  From  all  these 
causes  moisture  will  escape,  hence  in  many  soils  it  has 
been  thought  that  not  more  than  half  the  precipitation 
that  falls  is  retained.  But  it  is  very  evident  that  the  loss 
of  moisture  will  decrease  as  the  dust  mulch  is  main- 
tained. The  more,  therefore,  that  the  processes  of  culti- 
vation are  followed  that  will  admit  of  maintenance  of 
the  dust  mulch,  the  less  will  be  the  loss  of  moisture  from 
the  soil  and  subsoil. 

The  utilization  of  subsoil  moisture. — The  stored  wa- 
ter in  the  soil  and  subsoil  is  much  more  valuable  than  an 
equal  amount  of  rain  water  falling  during  the  period  of 
crop  growth.  It  contains  nitrates  formed  the  previous 
season.  These  are  not  washed  out  as  in  humid  regions. 
It  also  increases  the  supply  of  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid  in  the  soil.  It  is  in  a  considerable  degree  secure 
from  evaporation,  and  it  enables  the  roots  to  penetrate 


100  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

more  deeply  than  would  otherwise  be  possible.  But 
beneficial  as  subsoil  moisture  is  to  growing  crops,  there 
are  limitations  as  to  the  extent  to  which  it  should  be 
drawn  upon.  The  idea  has  prevailed  that  the  large  yields 
in  the  Canadian  west  are  the  outcome  of  moisture  lib- 
erated gradually  in  the  subsoil  by  the  melting  of  the 
frost  of  winter  as  summer  advances.  It  would  be  claim- 
ing too  much  to  say  that  no  advantage  results  to  the 
crop  from  this  source,  but  it  is  correct  to  say  that  the 
chief  advantage  to  the  crop  comes  from  moisture  that 
has  been  stored  in  the  soil  and  subsoil  the  previous  sum- 
mer, and  as  the  outcome  of  the  nitrates  which  the  sub- 
soil moisture  contained. 

Under  some  conditions,  from  50  to  90  per  cent,  of 
the  precipitation  that  falls  may  be  stored  in  the  soil  and 
subsoil.  The  larger  percentage,  of  course,  goes  to  the 
surface  soil.  Much  of  the  water  stored  in  the  surface  is 
drawn  upon  by  the  crop  in  the  early  stages  of  growth. 
The  question  naturally  arises,  how  much  of  the  moisture 
stored  in  the  subsoil  should  be  drawn  upon  in  the  grow- 
ing of  crops  and  how  much  should  be  left  because  of 
the  influence  which  it  exerts  on  the  accumulation  of 
subsoil  moisture.  The  larger  the  quantity  of  water  in 
the  soil  in  the  autumn,  the  more  'quickly  will  the  winter 
and  spring  precipitation  go  down,  and  the  greater  will 
be  the  store  of  the  accumulation.  It  is  very  evident, 
therefore,  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  follow  a  system 
of  tillage  that  would  at  any  time  exhaust  the  soil  of  its 
supply  of  subsoil  moisture.  Experiment  has  shown  that 
when  moisture  is  maintained  in  the  subsoil,  the  tendency 
is  to  increase  in  such  moisture.  More  especially  is  this 
true  in  areas  where  much  of  the  precipitation  falls  in  the 
winter.  Subsoil  moisture  is  sometimes  drawn  upon  to 
no  good  purpose. 

Moisture  from  the  subsoil  is  drawn  upon  to  no  good 
purpose  when  the  supply  is  insufficient  to  properly  ma- 


SOIL  MOISTURE  AND  DRY  F4.RMJMO  101 

ture  a  crop.  This  result  is  almost  certain  to  follow 
when  grain  crops  are  grown  every  year  in  the  semi-arid 
country.  The  amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil  and  also 
in  the  subsoil  are  not  enough  to  properly  mature  a 
grain  crop  in  a  dry  year,  and  the  outcome  is  that  the 
crop  fails.  The  moisture  that  has  been  used  in  growing 
it  is  therefore  lost.  Under  such  conditions  subsoil  mois- 
ture is  drawn  upon  to  no  good  purpose. 

A  reserve  of  moisture  in  the  subsoil  is  so  important 
that  its  presence  or  absence  may  make  the  difference 
between  success  and  failure  in  the  growing  of  crops.  In 
areas  with  an  average  rainfall  of  less  than  15  inches,  ex- 
periment has  shown  that  enough  of  reserve  moisture 
cannot  be  maintained  in  the  soil  to  produce  good  crops 
when  small  grains  are  grown  upon  the  soil  every  year. 
In  a  dry  year  they  may  promise  well  for  a  time,  but  be- 
fore they  reach  full  maturity  they  fail.  Experiments 
conducted  by  the  Montana  experiment  station  extending 
over  a  period  of  five  years  have  shown  that  more  grain 
can  be  obtained  in  a  series  of  years  by  alternate  crop- 
ping and  alternate  summer-fallowing  of  the  land  than 
by  growing  on  it  annual  crops  of  small  grains.  Such  a 
process  of  tillage  maintains  a  reserve  of  moisture  in  the 
soil  and  this  reserve  carries  a  crop  through  safely  in  a 
time  of  drought  that  but  for  its  presence  might  abso- 
lutely fail. 

In  order  to  maintain  this  reserve  of  soil  moisture, 
therefore,  the  bare-fallow  must  be  occasionally  intro- 
duced where  such  introduction  is  practicable.  It  may 
not  be  practicable  in  all  instances,  as  where,  for  instance, 
soils  are  so  light  as  to  drift  with  the  wind.  In  lieu  of 
the  summer-fallow  a  cultivated  crop  may  answer  the 
purpose,  but  not  quite  so  well,  as  the  cultivated  crop 
makes  drafts  upon  the  soil  moisture  in  the  process  of  its 
growth.  The  timeliness  of  the  cultivation  and  the  depth 
of  the  same  to  effect  these  ends  is  greatly  significant. 


102  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Experiments  conducted  in  Utah  have  tended  to  empha- 
size the  great  importance  of  stirring  the  soil  at  the  ear- 
liest moment  practicable  in  order  to  conserve  soil  mois- 
ture after  rainfall.  Nearly  one-half  the  entire  loss  from 
the  unstirred  surface  soil  of  fallow  land  was  lost  during 
the  first  three  days  subsequent  to  the  rainfall.  The 
depth  to  which  the  soil  should  be  cultivated  in  order  to 
conserve  the  moisture  is  still  an  unsettled  question.  Of 
course  it  is  influenced  by  soils.  For  the  retention  of 
soil  moisture  only,  it  will  probably  be  found  that  deep 
cultivation  is  to  be  preferred  to  shallow,  but  when  a  cul- 
tivated crop  is  being  grown,  cultivation  should  not  be 
practised  deep  enough  to  seriously  interfere  with  the 
growth  of  the  plants.  The  objections  to  the  summer 
fallow  are:  (1)  the  loss  of  a  crop  for  a  single  season; 
(2)  the  depletion  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  and  (3) 
the  blowing  of  the  soil  in  certain  areas.  The  first  ob- 
jection may  be  obviated  by  growing  a  cultivated  crop, 
which,  in  addition  to  furnishing  the  crop,  will  serve  al- 
most the  same  purposes  as  the  summer-fallow.  In  both 
instances,  however,  the  depletion  of  the  organic  matter 
is  about  the  same,  but  in  the  case  of  the  cultivated  crop 
some  benefit-  has  resulted  to  the  crop  grown.  It  has 
been  stated  that  the  blowing  of  soil  may  be  prevented 
entirely  by  stirring  it  at  the  opportune  time  after  rain, 
so  that  it  may  form  granules  rather  than  soil  particles. 
This  is  only  partially  true. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS 

In  some  respects  plant  growth  in  dry  areas  is,  of 
course,  the  same  as  in  humid  areas.  The  laws  that  govern 
the  processes  of  growth  are  the  same  the  world  over. 
but  the  results  may  be  widely  different  from  the  opera- 
tion of  those  laws,  because  of  modifications  in  their  ap- 
plication. These  modifications  are  the  outcome  of 
changed  conditions.  The  leading  characteristics  of  plant 
growth  peculiar  to  dry  areas  will  be  discussed  in  this 
chapter. 

Some  features  peculiar  to  such  growth. — These  in- 
clude the  following:  (1)  It  is  more  sparse  than  in  humid 
areas.  (2)  It  is  more  or  less  dwarfish.  (3)  It  tends 
to  abundant  fruitage.  (4)  It  is  made  chiefly  in  the  early 
season.  (5)  It  is  less  certain  than  in  humid  areas. 

The  evidences  of  sparseness  of  growth  in  dry  areas 
are  more  or  less  present  in  all  portions.  The  grass  plants 
are  less  numerous  relatively  on  a  given  area.  Even  the 
sage  brush  shrubs  grow  at  some  distance  from  one  an- 
other. A  dense  covering  of  grass  such  as  results  from 
the  growth  of  blue  grass  in  moist  situations  is  seldom 
or  never  met  with,  nor  is  the  land  covered  by  a  thick 
growth  of  bushes  save  in  proximity  to  streams,  or  that 
are  in  some  way  supplied  with  ground  water.  So  in- 
variably is  such  sparse  growth  present  that  the  degree 
of  the  same  furnishes  a  fairly  reliable  index  of  the  amount 
of  the  precipitation.  The  soil  also,  of  course,  has  some 
influence  on  the  density  or  sparseness  of  the  growth. 
Such  growth  is  a  wise  provision  of  nature  to  proportion 
growth  to  the  number  of  plants  so  that  each  may  have 
enough  moisture  to  enable  it  to  reproduce  itself.  It  is 
on  the  same  principle  that  production  which  is  the  out- 
come of  cultivation  is  more  satisfactory  when  the  plants 


104  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

grow  more  or  less  thinly  than  when  they  are  too  numer- 
ous. Should  the  plants  be  too  few  to  result  in  maximum 
production,  nature  in  part  at  least  makes  up  for  the  lack 
by  the  abundant  stooling  of  the  plants.  This  stooling, 
so  marked  in  dry  areas  under  proper  conditions  of 
growth,  is  caused  in  part  at  least  by  the  strength  of  the 
root  system  developed  in  such  areas. 

Grain  and  forage  plants  in  dry  areas  are  dwarfish 
in  their  habits  of  growth.  This  peculiarity  is  character- 
istic of  all  dry  areas,  and,  other  things  being  equal,  it  is 
present  increasingly  as  the  moisture  decreases.  Grains 
in  the  dry  areas  are  usually  much  shorter  than  the  same 
in  humid  areas.  The  same  is  true  of  corn  and  other  for- 
age plants.  Even  fruit  trees  do  not  attain  to  a  near 
approach  in  size  to  the  same  varieties  in  humid  areas. 
The  scarcity  of  moisture  is  doubtless  in  part  and  prob- 
ably chiefly  responsible  for  this  result,  as  enough  mois- 
ture is  not  present  to  promote  rapid  growth  during  the 
season  for  the  same.  The  lack  of  rainfall  that  is  usually 
present  after  midsummer  makes  the  growing  seasons 
very  short  and  tends  much  to  hasten  maturity. 

The  fruitage  in  plants  is  very  abundant.  This  char- 
acteristic pervades  all  plant  life.  It  is  seen  not  only  in 
the  relatively  large  yields  obtained  from  dwarfish  fields 
of  grain,  but  it  is  also  seen  in  the  enormous  fruitage 
that  characterizes  growth  in  all  kinds  of  fruit-bearing 
trees,  the  large  as  well  as  the  small.  It  is  the  outcome 
in  part  of  the  abundant  food  materials  in  the  soil  for 
the  production  of  seed  and  fruit  rather  than  of  wood, 
stem  and  leaf  growth,  and  in  part  of  the  absence  of  exu- 
berance in  the  growth  of  these.  Marked  exuberance  in 
the  growth  of  wood  in  the  tree,  or  of  stem  and  leaves 
in  the  plants,  draws  the  energies  of  the  plant,  so  to  speak, 
away  from  the  production  of  fruit  or  seed.  It  would  also 
seem  to  be  a  law  of  nature  that  the  harder  the  struggle 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  105 

for  existence  the  more  are  the  energies  of  the  plants 
centered  in  producing  the  elements  that  relate  to  repro- 
duction. 

The  growth  of  plants  in  dry  areas  is  nearly  all  made 
early  in  the  season.  This  is  more  especially  true  of 
areas  in  which  the  precipitation,  or  much  of  it,  falls  dur- 
ing the  period  of  early  growth.  The  grasses  of  the  prai- 
rie as  a  rule  cease  to  make  appreciable  growth  after  July, 
whereas  the  grasses  in  humid  areas  usually  make  much 
growth  in  the  autumn,  and  in  many  instances  continue 
to  grow  on  until  the  closing  in  of  winter.  The  partial 
and  oftentimes  complete  cessation  of  growth  after  mid- 
summer is  the  outcome  of  the  lack  of  moisture  in  the 
soil,  and  this  is  further  accentuated  by  the  lack  of  mois- 
ture in  the  air.  This  it  is  that  makes  it  so  important  that 
land  on  which  winter  crops  are  to  be  sown  shall  have 
the  moisture  conserved  by  proper  cultivation  during  the 
summer  previously.  In  some  limited  areas,  as  in  the 
upper  Flathead  valley  for  instance,  enough  moisture 
falls  in  the  autumn  to  result  in  a  more  or  less  free 
autumn  growth. 

That  production  in  dry  areas  will  be  less  certain 
than  in  humid  areas,  at  least  in  some  of  its  phases,  can- 
not be  gainsaid.  This  results  from  variation  in  the  an- 
nual precipitation  and  in  the  time  of  the  same.  It  does 
not  follow  that  the  actual  variations  in  the  precipitation 
will  be  greater  in  dry  than  in  humid  areas,  but  they  will 
be  felt  more.  In  dry  areas  the  precipitation  is  seldom 
or  never  beyond  the  best  needs  of  the  crops  in  a  normal 
season,  while  in  humid  areas  an  excess  of  moisture  is 
not  infrequent.  The  crop  in  dry  areas  will  take  harm 
usually  in  proportion  as  the  shortage  from  the  normal 
increases,  whereas  an  equal  decrease  in  the  rainfall  in 
humid  areas  may  do  but  little  harm.  From  what  has 
been  said  the  necessity  for  the  proper  conservation  of 


106  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

moisture  in  dry  areas  will  always  be  present  in  order  to 
guard  against  the  contingency  of  crop  failure. 

The  functions  of  water  in  the  soil. — Chief  among 
the  functions  of  water  in  the  soil  are  the  following:  (1) 
to  improve  its  physical  condition ;  (2)  to  act  upon  it 
chemically,  and  (3)  to  carry  food  to  plants.  Each  of 
these  functions  is  greatly  important. 

In  the  absence  of  water,  soils  cannot  be  tilled  as  a 
rule  without  greatly  increased  labor.  This  explains  why 
breaking  the  soil  in  dry  areas  is  usually  more  or  less 
laborious.  Such  unbroken  soil  is  too  lacking  in  moisture 
during  much  of  the  year  to  plow  easily.  It  is  so  firm  that 
heavy  rains  usually  run  away  over  the  surface  to  a  very 
considerable  extent.  This  explains  why  the  wide-awake 
farmer  is  so  careful  to  push  plowing  rapidly  at  those 
seasons  when  the  ground  has  in  it  the  largest  amount  of 
moisture.  The  service  rendered  by  water  in  facilitating 
pulverization  as  the  outcome  of  tillage  is  no  less  im- 
portant. Deep  plowing  on  stiff  soils  in  the  absence  of 
moisture  is  virtually  prohibitory  and  pulverization  is 
even  more  difficult. 

All  the  ways  in  which  water  acts  upon  the  soil 
chemically  cannot  be  discussed  here,  but  it  may  be 
said  that  it  is  a  principal  agent  in  promoting  the  decay 
of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  the  acids  from  which  aid 
in  the  liberation  of  plant  food.  In  the  absence  of  mois- 
ture buried  vegetable  substances  in  the  soil  will  not  de- 
cay, and  until  the  decaying  process  begins  it  cannot 
act  upon  the  soil  chemically.  Water  also  dissolves  plant 
food  in  the  soil,  changing  it  from  the  insoluble  into  the 
soluble  form,  so  that  the  plants  may  take  it  up  readily. 
Until  such  transformation  takes  place  sufficiently,  plants 
may  starve  in  the  soil  in  the  presence  of  an  abundant 
supply  of  unreduced  food.  In  humid  areas  water  is  fre- 
quently present  in  excess.  When  it  is,  two  evils  may 
follow.  One  is  the  dissolving  of  plant  food  too  rapidly 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  107 

in  the  soil  and  carrying  it  down  out  of  the  reach  of 
plant  roots  and  into  the  drainage  water  before  it  can  be 
taken  up  by  the  plants.  The  other  is,  excluding  the  air 
when  the  soil  becomes  saturated.  In  such  a  condition 
the  transformations  referred  to  practically  cease.  Satura- 
tion also  stays  the  process  of  tillage.  In  dry  areas  such 
excess  of  water  is  seldom,  and  in  a  great  majority  of 
instances  never,  present.  Thus  far,  therefore,  soils  in 
dry  areas  have  a  great  advantage  over  soils  in  humid 
areas. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  season,  it  aids  in  warming  the 
soil,  which  in  turn  favors  germination  and  early  growth. 
These  results  follow  the  greater  degree  of  warmth  in  the 
water  that  falls  at  that  season  than  is  possessed  by  the 
soil.  When  the  soil  becomes  unduly  warm,  as  in  summer, 
water  falling  on  it  from  the  clouds  cools  it,  and  such  cool- 
ing at  that  season  promotes  growth.  It  is  only  when  mois- 
ture, heat  and  air  are  present  in  the  soil  that  the  bac- 
teria in  the  same  can  fulfill  the  ends  for  which  they  ex- 
ist. Should  any  one  of  these  be  absent  beyond  a  certain 
degree,  their  activity  ceases. 

Water  is  also  the  medium  through  which  food  is  car- 
ried to  plants.  This  food  is  dissolved  through  the  ac- 
tion of  water,  and  is  held  in  solution  by  the  same.  While 
in  this  condition  it  is  taken  up  by  the  minute  hairs  which 
are  attached  to  the  rootlets  of  plants,  and  is  thence  con- 
veyed through  the  plants  for  their  support  and  upbuild- 
ing. The  importance,  therefore,  of  a  sufficient  supply  of 
water  in  the  soil  to  accomplish  this  end  will  be  appar- 
ent, from  whatsoever  source  it  may  be  obtained. 

Reducing  the  loss  of  water. — Since  water  in  the  soil 
is  so  precious  in  dry  areas,  the  importance  of  practical 
measures  that  may  be  adopted  for  its  maintenance  cannot 
be  easily  over-estimated.  In  various  ways  its  loss  may 
be  reduced.  Prominent  among  these  are  the  following: 
(1)  by  storing  it  deeply  in  the  soil;  (2)  by  surface  cul- 


108  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

tivation ;  (3)  by  keeping  down  weed  growth,  and  (4)  by 
shading  the  soil,  as  in  the  process  of  mulching.  In  humid 
areas  these  preventive  measures  call  for  but  little  consid- 
eration. 

Where  the  precipitation  is  not  more  than  15  inches 
in  a  year,  the  unbroken  soil  is  usually  so  firm  and  dense 
that  rains  seldom  penetrate  it  to  the  depth  of  more  than 
a  few  feet,  usually  not  more  than  2  to  4,  and  much  of  the 
water  that  falls  does  not  enter  the  soil  at  all,  but  runs 
away  over  its  surface.  When  the  dense  soil  is  broken 
up  and  especially  by  deep  plowing  supplemented  by  sub- 
soiling,  the  water  that  falls,  or  much  of  it,  goes  down.  If 
the  land  is  summer-fallowed  the  first  season,  it  goes  down 
usually  to  the  depth  of  2  to  3  feet.  The  more  frequently 
that  the  land  is  summer-fallowed  and  also  cultivated,  as 
through  the  growing  of  a  cultivated  crop,  the  more 
deeply  will  the  water  that  falls  from  the  skies  go  down 
into  trie  subsoil.  It  penetrates  but  slowly  into  the  dry 
ground  below,  but  within  a  very  limited  term  of  years  it 
will  work  down  in  the  subsoil  to  the  depth  of,  say,  6  to 
10  feet.  As  moisture  works  down  into  the  subsoil,  the 
more  quickly  will  that  which  falls  work  downward, 
hence  the  more  will  be  the  proportion  of  that  which 
falls  that  will  work  down  into  the  subsoil,  on  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  surface  soil  is  properly  tilled. 

The  advantages  of  storing  moisture  in  the  subsoil, 
as  far  as  this  may  be  practicable,  include:  (1)  the  fact 
that  moisture  is  much  less  readily  lost  from  the  subsoil 
than  from  the  ordinary  tillable  areas  of  the  same,  and  (2) 
that  because  of  this  the  subsoil  may  furnish  a  reserve  of 
moisture  at  a  critical  time  when  it  may  be  impossible  to 
obtain  a  supply  from  any  other  source.  Experiments  in 
Utah  have  shown  that  in  7  days  the  first  foot  of  soil  that 
contained  23.22  per  cent,  lost  13.30  pounds  of  the  same, 
while  another  soil,  that  contained  but  16.64  per  cent,  lost 
only  8.48  pounds.  The  total  water  in  these  two  soils  to 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  109 

the  depth  of  8  feet  was  at  the  outset  17.57  and  16.55  per 
cent.,  which  shows  very  conclusively  that  the  larger  the 
proportion  of  the  water  in  the  surface  soil,  the  greater  rel- 
atively will  be  the  loss,  and  vice  versa,  the  treatment  of 
the  soils  being  the  same  in  both  instances.  When  the  sur- 
face soil  is  kept  in  proper  condition,  the  loss  of  moisture 
from  the  subsoil  is  very  little,  save  through  transpiration 
in  growing  plants. 

The  most  potent  agency  in  preventing  the  escape  of 
moisture  from  the  soil  which  it  has  entered  is  surface  cul- 
tivation. The  influence  of  cultivation,  mainly  through 
the  maintenance  of  the  dust  mulch  is  discussed  elsewhere 
(see  p.  165).  The  same  is  also  true  of  the  maintenance  of 
humus  in  the  soil,  which  also  is  discussed  more  fully  in 
another  chapter  (see  p.  413).  Of  course  no  system  of  cul- 
tivation can  be  adopted  that  will  entirely  prevent  the 
loss  of  moisture  or  even  the  loss  of  more  than  half  of  it 
on  the  average,  during  the  year,  but  beyond  all  question 
a  system  of  cultivation  may  be  followed  that  will  safely 
hold  a  large  share  of  the  moisture  that  would  be  lost 
to  the  soil  in  the  absence  of  such  cultivation. 

Reference  is  made  elsewhere  to  the  loss  of  moisture 
to  the  soil  through  the  growth  of  weeds  (see  p.  386).  This 
loss  cannot  be  entirely  prevented  but  it  may  certainly  be 
very  greatly  reduced.  Ordinarily,  it  is  possible  to  prevent 
such  loss  in  the  summer-fallow  and  also  in  crops  that  are 
cultivated.  But  it  is  not  possible  to  prevent  it  entirely  in 
cultivated  crops,  although  by  a  judicious  system  of  till- 
age it  may  be  kept  so  low  that  it  may  not  be  a  serious 
loss.  In  humid  areas,  loss  of  moisture  from  this  source  is 
much  less  serious  than  in  dry  areas,  but  in  either  case 
the  aim  should  be  to  prevent  it. 

In  semi-arid  as  in  humid  areas  the  shading  of  the  soil, 
as  already  intimated,  may  under  some  conditions  tend 
materially  to  reduce  the  amount  of  evaporation.  The 
shade  may  be  natural  or  artificial.  Natural  shade  is 


110  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

that  which  is  furnished  by  crops  while  they  are  growing 
or  by  vegetable  matter  in  its  decay  on  the  soil  which  pro- 
duced it.  Sorghum  in  its  growth,  and  especially  in  the 
later  stages  of  the  same,  furnishes  a  good  illustration  of 
the  former,  and  leaves  from  trees  of  the  latter.  The  shade 
thus  furnished  by  sorghum  in  a  considerable  degree  com- 
pensates for  the  loss  of  moisture  by  transpiration  through 
the  corn  leaves.  Such  protection  should  be  considered 
when  determining  the  crops  that  should  be  grown.  Straw 
from  grain  that  is  headed  may  furnish  considerable  shade, 
and  even  the  stubble  from  grain  that  has  been  harvested 
may  have  an  appreciable  influence  in  reducing  the  loss 
of  moisture  that  falls  upon  them.  Artificial  shade  is  that 
which  comes  from  mulching,  as  by  top  dressing  crops 
with  straw  in  the  early  stages  of  growth ;  by  top  dressing, 
especially  pastures,  with  manure,  or  by  using  various 
waste  vegetable  matters  in  covering  the  soil  above  the 
roots  of  trees.  Such  measures,  each  in  its  place,  may 
render  substantial  service  in  reducing  the  loss  of  moisture 
through  evaporation. 

The  seasonal  use  of  moisture. — What  may  be  termed 
the  seasonal  use  of  moisture  considers  adaptation  in 
plants:  (1)  to  winter  rainfall;  (2)  to  spring  or  early  sum- 
mer rainfall,  and  (3)  to  rainfall  conditions  that  are  vari- 
able. Close  attention  to  such  adaptation  has  an  im- 
portant bearing  upon  production  in  dry  areas. 

When  the  precipitation  occurs  mainly  in  the  winter, 
it  is  important  that  such  crops  shall  be  grown  as  will 
profit  most  by  such  winter  rainfall.  These  crops  include 
wheat,  winter  rye,  winter  oats,  winter  vetch,  winter  bar- 
ley, and  to  a  less  extent  winter  speltz.  The  crops  which 
are  carried  through  the  late  autumn,  winter  and  spring 
months,  are  thus  enabled  to  utilize  the  moisture  that  falls 
in  the  seasons  named,  as  spring  sown  crops  could  not  util- 
lize  the  same.  Fortunately,  these  winter  crops  are  chiefly 
grown  in  climates,  the  severity  of  which  does  not  preclude 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  ill 

all  growth  in  the  winter  season.  If  such  crops  were  not 
grown  in  these  areas,  much  of  the  winter  precipitation 
would  be  lost  to  crops  sown  in  the  spring,  hence  the  wis- 
dom, as  it  were,  of  giving  crops  sown  in  the  autumn  what 
may  be  termed  the  right  of  way  under  these  conditions. 

When  the  precipitation  is  confined  mainly  to  the 
spring  months  then  spring  crops  should  as  a  rule  be 
chiefly  sown.  There  will  be  difficulty  in  germinating  au- 
tumn crops  under  the  conditions  named,  and  when  these 
do  not  germinate  in  the  autumn,  the  results  are  usually 
more  or  less  uncertain.  While,  therefore,  it  would  not 
be  wise  under  such  conditions  to  try  to  force  the  growth 
of  autumn  crops,  certain  spring  crops  may  succeed  un- 
usually well. 

In  yet  other  conditions,  the  rainfall  is  variable  and 
more  or  less  fitful.  This  means  that  while  the  bulk  of 
the  precipitation  falls  mainly  in  the  season  for  ordinary 
growth,  in  some  instances  it  does  not  fall  freely  at  such 
a  time,  but  may  fall  later.  Under  these  conditions  cer- 
tain crops  would  fail  outright  during  the  dry  period, 
while  others  would  simply  cease  to  grow  for  a  time,  and 
would  again  resume  and  complete  growth  when  the  rains 
come  again.  Where  these  conditions  are  frequent,  the 
growth  of  such  crops  should  be  encouraged.  Among 
these  are  certain  sorghums,  and  buffalo  and  some  other 
grasses.  They  feed  not  far  distant  from  the  surface,  and 
are,  therefore,  easily  accessible  to  the  moisture  when  it 
comes. 

At  certain  times,  moisture  in  the  soil,  the  outcome 
of  precipitation,  is  more  dependable  than  at  other  times> 
though  in  few  instances  in  dry  areas  is  it  absolutely  de- 
pendable. The  aim  should  be  to  grow  plants  that  will 
make  the  bulk  of  their  growth  during  the  most  depend- 
able season  for  moisture.  Thus,  when  the  rain  usually 
ceases  to  fall  for  a  time  after  July,  as  in  Montana,  early 
ripening  oats  are  a  safer  crop  than  oats  that  are  late 


112  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ripening,  and  in  some  parts  of  Colorado  where  consider- 
able rain  falls  late  rather  than  early,  late  potatoes  are  a 
surer  crop  than  those  that  mature  early. 

Root  development. — Prominent  among  the  functions 
of  roots  are:  (1)  supplying  plants  with  water;  (2}  fur- 
nishing them  with  the  elements  of  growth,  and  (3) 
mooring  them  to  the  soil.  Water  is  supplied  to  the 
plants  almost  entirely  through  the  roots. 

These  penetrate  the  soil  variously,  and  at  the  tips 
of  the  rootlets  are  numerous  minute  hairs  which  are  in 
a  sense  immersed  in  the  water  films  that  surround  the 
soil  germs,  and  they  are  active  in  absorbing  it  for  the 
needs  of  the  plant.  The  elements  of  growth  that  are  held 
in  solution  by  the  soil  water  enter  the  plant  with  the 
water.  Those  elements  indispensable  to  growth  are 
nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  lime,  magnesia  and 
iron.  Various  other  elements  are  helpful  to  growth,  but 
not  so  indispensable  as  those  that  have  been  named.  The 
way  in  which  plants  are  moored  to  the  soil  by  the  roots 
needs  no  illustration. 

It  has  been  frequently  noticed  that  there  is  a  close 
relation  between  the  character  of  the  root  development 
and  that  of  the  top  growth,  hence  in  the  dry  areas  it  is 
specially  important  that  good  root  growth  is  secured,  that 
the  plants  may  better  endure  severe  conditions  should 
they  come.  The  root  growth  sought  should  be  active, 
deep  and  strong. 

The  more  active  that  the  growth  of  the  roots  is,  the 
more  quickly  will  they  be  distributed  through  the  soil. 
The  water  which  they  will  take  up  will  be  proportionate 
to  the  extent  to  which  they  ramify  the  soil.  As  water  is 
taken  up  by  the  rootlets,  it  is  drawn  upon  from  all  direc- 
tions to  take  the  place  of  what  has  been  removed.  Growth 
in  the  plants  will  be  proportionate  as  the  supply  of  soil 
water  is  timely  and  generous,  and  this  will  be  proportion- 
ate to  the  activity  of  the  root  growth,  which  in  turn  is  de- 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  113 

dependent  on  the  favorable  conditions  for  growth  viewed 
from  the  .standpoint:  (1)  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  water 
supply;  (2)  of  the  abundance  of  the  plant  food,  and  (3)  of 
the  favorable  character  of  the  mechanical  soil  conditions 
that  favor  root  penetration.  Such  activity  in  root  growth 
is  specially  important  in  the  early  stages  of  growth. 

Relatively  deep  rooting  is  specially  important  in 
plants  in  dry  areas.  Such  rooting  enables  them  to  secure 
increased  moisture  and  also  increased  plant  food.  The 
moisture  supply  near  the  surface  is  usually  greater  in 
humid  than  in  dry  areas,  hence  the  greater  tendency  in 
root  growth  in  the  latter  to  go  down  much  more  deeply 
than  in  the  former.  Corn  roots  in  these  have  been  known 
to  ramify  the  soil  in  all  directions  to  the  depth  of  7  or  8 
feet,  and  the  roots  of  small  cereals  have  been  traced  in 
the  subsoil  to  the  depth  of  10  feet.  These  are  of  course 
extreme  instances.  They  also  find  more  easily  digestible 
plant  food  than  is  usually  found  in  the  subsoils  of 
humid  areas.  The  generally  favorable  physical  character 
of  the  subsoils  of  western  areas  for  root  penetration  after 
they  have  been  moistened  by  water  favors  deep  growth 
in  the  roots,  and  this  brings  to  the  plants  greater  immuni- 
ty from  the  hazard  that  would  otherwise  come  to  them 
in  time  of  drought.  Where  plants  are  irrigated  they  estab- 
lish a  root  system  near  the  surface,  as  there  they  may 
find  ample  water  to  supply  their  needs. 

Strong  root  growth  is  also  important,  owing  to  the 
closeness  of  the  relation  that  obtains  between  develop- 
ment in  the  roots  and  growth  above  ground.  Especially 
is  this  relation  important  with  reference  to  the  production 
of  seed.  It  has  been  claimed,  and  it  would  seem  properly 
so,  that  there  is  some  relation  between  strong  root  devel- 
opment and  the  abundant  stooling  that  comes  to  the 
small  cereals  in  dry  areas.  No  measures,  therefore, 
should  be  overlooked,  when  preparing  the  soil  for  seed, 


114  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

that  are  calculated  to  facilitate  quick  and  strong  root 
growth  in  the  plants. 

The  superior  quality  of  dry  farm  crops. — It  may  be 
truthfully  said  of  dry  farm  crops  that:  (1)  they  are  richer 
in  dry  matter  than  other  crops ;  (2)  are  possessed  of  rela- 
tively more  nutrition;  (3)  have  a  high  proportion  of 
grain  to  the  straw,  and  (4)  they  are  usually  higher  in 
palatability.  It  would  be  a  mistake,  therefore,  to  meas- 
ure the  feeding  value  of  dry  farm  crops  as  compared  with 
crops  grown  in  humid  areas  on  the  basis  of  weight  or 
production. 

Other  things  being  equal,  the  food  value  of  plants 
increases  in  the  relative  proportion  of  the  dry  matter 
which  they  contain.  Widtsoe  states  that  hay  grown  in 
humid  regions  has  12  to  20  per  cent,  of  water,  and  in  arid 
regions  from  5  to  12  per  cent.  The  average  water  con- 
tent in  wheat  as  given  by  Wiley  is  10.62  per  cent.  In 
some  parts  of  the  dry  area  it  is  not  more  than  8  to  9 
per  cent.  The  less  plentiful  the  water  supply  during 
growth,  the  higher  will  be  the  percentage  of  the  dry  mat- 
ter in  the  plants  produced. 

The  food  nutrients  in  plants  grown  in  dry  areas  are 
considerably  more  relatively  than  in  the  same  plants 
grown  in  humid  areas.  More  particularly  is  this  true 
of  the  nitrogen  content.  Experiments  conducted  in  Hol- 
land found  that  in  a  soil  that  contained  30  per  cent,  of 
water  throughout  the  growing  season,  the  protein  per- 
centage in  oats  grown  in  the  same  was  but  5.6  per  cent., 
while  the  protein  percentage  in  oats  grown  in  a  soil 
that  contained  but  10  per  cent,  of  water  during  the  same 
period  was  10.6  per  cent.  Hard  spring  wheat  grown  in 
Utah  has  about  4  per  cent,  more  protein  than  the  same 
variety  grown  in  the  middle  west.  The  reasons  for  such 
increase  in  the  protein  content  in  dry  areas  rest  mainly 
on  general  climatic  conditions,  including  a  more  or  less 
limited  water  supply.  Protein  is  most  abundant  in  plants 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  115 

when  young,  and  in  plants  that  mature  relatively  quickly, 
which  they  usually  do  i»dry  areas. 

The  higher  proportion  of  the  grain  to  the  straw  in 
dry  farm  crops  than  in  crops  grown  in  humid  areas  is 
probably  owing  to  the  abundance  of  the  food  materials 
stored  in  the  root  system.  This  also  would  seem  to  ac- 
count for  the  larger  relative  proportion  of  leaf  growth, 
found  in  the  former.  In  normally  healthy  and  suffi- 
ciently large  straw,  the  yields  of  grain  will  usually 
decrease  with  increase  in  straw  development  above  the 
requirements  named. 

Crops  grown  in  dry  areas  are  usually  more  palatable 
than  those  grown  in  humid  areas.  This  applies  more 
especially  to  fodders.  It  arises  in  part  from  the  smaller 
stem  growth  in  plants  and  the  larger  relative  leaf  pro- 
duction, and  in  part  from  the  brighter  curing,  of  the 
same  in  the  almost  total  absence  of  dew  and  rain  in  the 
harvest  season.  It  is  legitimate,  therefore,  to  claim  that 
the  average  feeding  value  of  crops  grown  in  dry  areas 
is  considerably  above  that  of  the  same  grown  in  humid 
areas. 

Weeds  grown  in  dry  areas. — Weed  growth  should 
be  far  less  prevalent  in  dry  than  in  humid  areas,  since 
the  absence  of  abundant  rainfall  is  so  far  unfavorable 
to  the  growth  of  weeds.  This  fact  in  itself  places  the 
farmer  on  a  vantage  ground  that  should  enable  him  to 
maintain  cleanness  in  his  farm  and  crops  far  more  easily 
than  the  same  can  be  done  by  the  farmer  in  humid 
areas.  But  what  are  the  facts?  With  but  few  exceptions 
the  farms  become  polluted  with  weed  fife  in  its  various 
forms  before  they  have  been  tilled  many  years.  This  fact 
proclaims  to  the  world  the  lack  of  effort  on  the  part  of 
pioneer  farmers  to  maintain  cleanliness  in  their  lands. 

In  newly  settled  countries  weeds  are  usually  intro- 
duced in  the  seeds  brought  in  for  sowing,  howsoever  they 
may  be  propagated  subsequently.  They  may  come  in 


116  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

the  seeds  of  almost  any  kind  of  cereal  that  may  be  in- 
troduced, but  to  a  greater  exteift  they  come  in  flax  seed 
than  in  the  seed  of  any  other  kind  of  grain.  This  is  ow- 
ing to  the  greater  difficulty  in  removing  foul  seeds  from 
flax  than  from  other  cereals.  That  it  is  so  is  so  far  un- 
fortunate, for  in  semi-arid  areas  flax  is  more  commonly 
sown  as  the  first  crop  than  any  other  cereal.  In  this  way 
the  land  becomes-  polluted  with  weed  seeds  in  many  in- 
stances at  the  very  outset.  That  it  is  so  is  peculiarly 
unfortunate.  The  homesteader  begins  his  work  on  new 
and  clean  soil.  With  the  exercise  of  proper  vigilance  it 
could  be  kept  clean  at  least  from  many  forms  of  perni- 
cious weed  life  for  many  years  to  come. 

The  weed  seeds  that  are  most  liable  to  come  in  the 
seeds  of  grain  are  wild  mustard,  wild  oats  and  penny 
cress,  but  of  course  almost  any  kind  of  weed  may  be 
introduced  in  this  way.  Wild  mustard  and  the  wild  oat 
are  the  most  baneful  among  weeds  that  come  to  the  dry 
farm.  Foul  seeds  are  also  frequently  introduced  with 
alfalfa  seed.  Of  these  dodder  is  the  most  dangerous. 

After  weeds  have  been  introduced,  they  are  distrib- 
uted by  various  methods.  These  include  the  following: 
(1)  through  the  purchase  and  changing  of  seed;  (2) 
through  the  medium  of  threshing  machines ;  (3)  in  the 
droppings  of  cattle,  and  (4)  by  the  agency  of  birds.  But 
the  most  potent  agency  by  far  in  the  distribution  of 
weeds  after  they  have  been  introduced,  especially  in  the 
Plains  region,  is  wind.  The  extent  to  which  this  agency 
may  scatter  the  seeds  of  some  kinds  of  weeds  is  in  a 
sense  without  limit.  The  seeds  of  the  Russian  thistle, 
tumbling  mustard  and  other  weeds  of  the  tumbling  or- 
der, may  be  thus  carried  to  distances  that  are  in  a  sense 
incredible,  nor  is  there  any  way  of  guarding  against  such 
introduction.  Certain  styles  of  wire  fencing  are  in  some 
sense  a  safeguard  but  not  in  all  instances,  as  the  weeds 
may  pile  up  to  such  an  extent  that  they  form  an  inclined 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  117 

plane  over  .which  those  that  come  later  roll,  and  speed  on 
their  way  to  farther  distribution.  Fortunately  nearly 
all  this  class  of  weeds  is  short  lived  or  at  least  compara- 
tively so,  and  they  are  more  easily  destroyed  than  some 
other  forms  of  weed  life.  Wild  oats. and  mustard  and 
other  seeds  are  frequently  carried  by  the  winds  from  one 
farm  to  another  that  happens  to  lie  adjacent  to  it  on 
the  leeward  side.  Fortunately  water  is  not  an  important 
agent  in  carrying  weed  seeds  in  dry  areas  as  it  frequently 
is  in  humid  areas  and  also  wherever  irrigation  is  prac- 
tised. 

Certain  forms  of  weed  life  are  more  difficult  of  eradi- 
cation in  dry  than  in  humid  areas.  This  is  especially  true 
of  weeds  the  seeds  of.  which  have  much  oil,  as  for  in- 
stance wild  mustard  and  penny  cress.  The  small  amount 
of  moisture  relatively  that  is  in  the  soil  tends  to 
prolong  vitality  in  the  seeds.  Because  of  this,  weeds  will 
grow  after  longer  periods  of  burial-  in  such  soils  than  if 
buried  in  soils  more  humid.  Of  course  as  long  as  seeds 
retain  vitality  they  remain  ready  to  grow  when  subjected 
to  favorable  conditions  for  growth. 

It  shoulder  be  easier  nevertheless  to  maintain  clean- 
liness in  farms  in  dry  than  in  humid  areas,  owing  to  the 
character  of  the  rotation.  The  farmer  in  dry  areas  is 
compelled  to  give  much  attention  to  summer-fallowing 
the  land,  or  to  growing  cultivated  crops,  or  to  both,  in  or- 
der to  secure  the  requisite  amount  of  moisture.  If  this 
work  is  faithfully  and  intelligently  performed,  and 
proper  attention  is  given  to  the  cleaning  of  the  seed 
used,  it  should  be  quite  practicable  to  keep  farms  prac- 
tically free  from  noxious  weeds.  Nowhere  else  where 
farming  is  conducted,  should  the  farms  be  so  free  from 
weeds  as  in  dry  areas. 

Grain  plants  volunteering. — The  tendency  in  cereals 
to  volunteer  is  ever  present  in  dry  areas.  Volunteer 
grain  means  grain  that  grows  from  seed  that  has  shat- 


118  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

tered  previous  to  or  during  the  process  of  harvesting.  If 
grain,  in  some  varieties  at  least,  is  not  cut  promptly  when 
ripe,  a  certain  proportion  of  the  kernels  may  shatter 
through  the  swaying  of  the  winds.  The  plump  filling 
of  the  grain  in  dry  areas  favors  shattering.  The  volun- 
teering of  grain  in  dry  areas  may  give  the  farmers 
more  trouble  and  labor  than  the  noxious  weeds. 

The  season  for  such  volunteering  is  of  course  the 
season  of  the  harvesting  of  the  crop.  In  addition  to  the 
shattering  of  the  seed,  heads  are  scattered  during  the 
harvesting  process.  The  weather  subsequently  is  so  dry 
that  these,  in  many  instances,  do  not  germinate  in  the 
autumn.  They  are  buried  in  the  soil  by  the  disc  or  plow, 
and  the  next  season  they  germinate  and  grow  up  amid 
the  crop  that  follows,  providing  such  a  crop  is  sown  the 
following  year.  If  the  crop  is  of  a  different  species,  there 
is  admixing  in  the  same,  as  for  instance  wheat  and  oats. 
If  of  the  same  species  but  differing  in  variety,  the  varie- 
ties become  badly  mixed.  If  of  the  same  variety,  the 
volunteer  plants  growing  up  amid  the  plants  from  the 
seed  sown  so  increases  the  number  of  the  plants  as  to 
frequently  reduce  the  yields.  To  such  an  extent  does 
grain  thus  volunteer  in  some  instances  that  a  fair  re- 
turn in  grain  is  sometimes  reaped  without  sowing  any 
seed,  and  even  without  stirring  the  ground  with  any  im- 
plement. Such  crops  are  more  frequent  in  the  case  of 
winter  wheat  and  winter  rye  than  in  that  of  a  spring 
cereal. 

The  evils  that  arise  from  this  source  will  be  readily 
apparent.  It  greatly  increases  the  tendency  in  grains 
to  mix,  and  therefore  increases  correspondingly  the  diffi- 
culty of  maintaining  purity  in  grain.  The  loss  resulting 
may  not  be  serious  in  grains  that  are  to  be  fed  to  live 
stock,  at  least  in  some  instances.  But  it  may  not  be  so 
with  grains  that  are  to  be  marketed.  Suppose,  for  in- 
stance, that  winter  rye  or  some  soft  variety  of  wheat 


PLANT  GROWTH  IN  DRY  AREAS  119 

grows  numerously  in  a  crop  of  hard  winter  wheat,  the 
price  paid  will  be  lowered  in  proportion  to  the  extent 
to  which  such  admixture  is  present.  The  difficulty  found 
in  obtaining  pure  seed  in  dry  areas  is  largely  the  out- 
come of  such  volunteering  of  grains. 

The  volunteering  of  grains  may  be  greatly  lessened : 
(1)  by  early  and  prompt  cutting  of  the  crop;  (2)  by 
careful  handling  of  the  same  when  cut,  and  (3)  by  the 
gleaning  of  sheep  and  swine  amid  the  stubbles.  The 
early  and  prompt  cutting  of  the  grain  will  prevent  shat- 
tering in  the  same  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  but  it 
will  not  in  all  instances  entirely  prevent  it,  providing  the 
grain  is  allowed  to  become  sufficiently  mature  before  it  is 
cut.  Owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  grain  crops  in  some 
instances,  the  loss  of  heads  is  greater  in  the  harvesting 
process  than  it  would  be  in  the  case  of  grains  that  were 
of  greater  length.  This  loss  is  considerably  increased  if 
the  sheaves  are  handled  in  a  careless  manner.  Sheep 
or  swine  may  subsequently  gather  many  heads,  but  they 
cannot  gather  them  all,  hence  even  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions  there  will  be  some  loss  from  the 
shattering  and  falling  of  heads  in  the  harvesting  process. 

The  remedies  for  the  volunteering  of  grain  or 
rather  for  the  harmful  influences  that  may  result,  are 
the  following:  (1)  summer-fallowing  the  land  with  suffi- 
cient frequency ;  (2)  growing  a  cultivated  crop  with  suffi- 
cient frequency,  and  (3)  modifying  the  rotation.  The 
frequency  of  the  summer-fallowing  will  depend  in  a 
considerable  degree:  (1)  on  the  amount  of  the  precipi- 
tation ;  (2)  on  the  rotation,  and  (3)  on  whether  the  crops 
are  grown  for  feeding"  or  for  being  marketed.  The 
greater  the  precipitation,  the  less  the  necessity  for  the 
summer-fallow  in  order  to  prevent  volunteering,  for 
the  more  that  the  rainfall  is,  especially  in  the  autumn, 
the  more  will  the  grain  sprout  at  that  season,  and  when 
thus  sprouted  it  may  be  destroyed  by  subsequent  cul- 


120  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

tivation.  But  the  summer-fallow  even  will  not  be  effec- 
tive in  destroying  volunteer  grain,  because  of  its  deep 
rooting,  unless  some  implement  is  used  with  sufficient 
frequency  that  will  cut  off  the  plants  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  The  reasons  that  relate  to  the  frequency  with 
which  the  land  should  be  summer-fallowed  to  destroy 
such  grain  will  apply  equally  to  the  growing  of  cultivated 
crops.  But  when  growing  the  latter,  some  hand  work 
may  be  necessary  to  complete  the  work.  The  less  fre- 
quently that  the  same  varieties  are  grown  in  succession, 
the  less  will  be  the 'tendency  to  admixing  in  the  grains. 
The  harm  from  volunteering  may  be  much  lessened  by 
observing  such  practise  in  the  absence  of  the  summer- 
fallow  and  also  of  the  cultivated  crop,  when  alfalfa  is  one 
of  the  crops  that  is  introduced  into  the  rotation.  When 
the  summer-fallow  or  the  cultivated  crop  or  the  two  in 
conjunction,  that  is  in  alternation,  are  brought  between 
each  two  grain  crops,  the  harm  from  grains  volunteer- 
ing may  be  entirely  prevented. 


CHAPTER  VII 
PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS 

In  the  cultivation  of  soils  in  the  semi-arid  regions 
the  plow  in  one  or  the  other  of  its  forms  will  always 
have  a  foremost  place.  But  that  place  will  always  be 
less  important  relatively  than  in  humid  areas.  In  the 
latter  the  plow  is  almost  invariably  used  when  preparing 
the  land  for  a  crop.  In  the  former  the  disc  is  very  fre- 
quently used  instead  of  the  plow  after  the  land  has 
once  been  broken  with  the  plow. 

Prominent  among  the  objects  sought  from  plowing 
are:  (1)  breaking  up  the  land  to  admit  moisture  and  air; 
(2)  making  a  seed  bed  in  which  to  plant  the  crop;  (3) 
cleaning  the  land.  Other  benefits  follow,  though  not  so 
important,  perhaps,  as  the  former.  Prominent  among 
these  is  bringing  the  land  into  that  condition  which 
makes  it  possible  to  prevent  the  escape  of  moisture  by 
the  nature  of  the  cultivation  given  to  it  subsequently  on 
and  near  the  surface. 

Much  of  the  untilled  area  in  the  dry  region  is  cov- 
ered with  a  shrubby  growth  consisting  mainly  of  what  is 
termed  sage  brush.  This  is  so  named  doubtless  from  the 
sage-like  odor  which  escapes  from  the  bushes  and  the 
sage-like  taste  of  the  stems  and  leaves.  Millions  and  mil- 
lions of  acres  of  land  in  the  western  states  are  covered 
by  those  shrubs.  They  grow  from  the  height  of  a  few 
inches  to  several  feet,  as  many  as  five  or  six  in  some  in- 
stances. They  usually  grow  at  a  little  distance  from  one 
another  and  some  native  grasses  may  grow  between  the 
plants.  The  abundant  presence  of  these  plants  is  looked 
upon  as  an  indication  of  a  fertile  soil,  and  a  tall  and 
vigorous  growth  in  the  same  as  an  indication  of  rain- 
fall more  copious  than  the  average. 


122  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

It  will  be  at  once  apparent  that  this  growth  and  other 
forms  that  mingle  with  it,  as  "rabbit  brush"  and  "grease- 
wood,"  will  prove  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  plow  in 
proportion  as  it  is  abundant  and  strong.  In  some  in- 
stances it  is  grubbed  out  with  the  mattock.  This  meth- 
od is  usually  followed  by  the  small  farmer  whose  avail- 
able horse  labor  may  not  be  equal  to  the  task  of  drawing 
a  plow  through  the  brush.  Where  the  brush  is  not 
over  strong  and  the  power  is  sufficient,  strong  plows  are 
used  in  breaking  the  land  and  uprooting  the  brush  in 
the  one  operation.  The  shrubs  thus  loosened  are  thrown 
into  heaps  and  burned. 

Various  devices  have  been  tried  with  more  or  less 
success  to  clean  the  land  from  brush  before  it  is  plowed. 
One  of  these  consists  of  two  railroad  rails  fastened  to- 
gether with  strong  chains.  The  rails  are  drawn  by  hitch- 
ing at  both  ends,  so  that  the  whole  length  of  the  rail 
is  drawn  against  the  brushes  so  as  to  break  them  off 
or  pull  them  out.  In  some  instances  but  one  rail  is 
used  and  preferably  bent  forward  at  the  ends.  If  used 
straight  it  is  necessary  to  attach  a  small  platform  be- 
hind it  and  weighted  to  keep  the  rail  from  tipping.  It 
is  necessary  in  some  instances  to  drive  the  rails  over 
the  land  several  times,  and  it  may  be  further  necessary 
to  do  some  hand  grubbing  to  complete  the  work.  Other 
devices  have  been  used  for  pulling  out  the  shrubs, 
especially  when  they  are  of  large  size.  Success  with 
these  thus  far  has  only  been  partial.  Where  larger  trees, 
as  the  mesquite,  juniper  and  cedar  grow,  grubbing  is 
necessary. 

On  other  areas,  more  especially  in  the  Plains  coun- 
try, the  soil  is  more  or  less  covered  with  grass  of  differ- 
ent degrees  of  density.  The  power  called  for  in  break- 
ing up  this  land  increases  with  the  density  of  the  sod, 
other  things  being  equal.  But  where  the  sod  is  dense 
the  rainfall  is  more  copious  than  where  the  opposite 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  123 

conditions  exist.  Because  of  this  it  may  take  more  power 
in  some  instances  to  break  up  a  sod  with  less  of  density 
than  would  suffice  for  sod  of  greater  density.  On  yet 
other  areas  the  land  may  be  so  encumbered  with  stones 
lying  on  and  near  the  surface  that  it  is  necessary  to  re- 
move these  before  any  attempt  is  made  to  plow  the  land. 
Such  land  may  have  a  forbidding  look  to  the  land  seeker, 
but  it  frequently  happens  that"  the  obstructions  referred 
to  lie  only  on  or  near  the  surface  and  that  when  once  re- 
moved the  soil  may  make  excellent  farming  land. 

The  ultimate  object  of  plowing  is  to  put  the  soil  in 
proper  condition  for  growing  a  crop.  While  the  objects 
sought  from  plowing  are  virtually  the  same  in  kind  in 
semi-arid  and  humid  regions,  they  differ  much  in  degree. 
In  the  former  the  breaking  up  of  the  soil  that  it  will 
more  readily  admit  moisture  is  much  more  important 
relatively  than  in  the  latter.  In  the  former  a  carefully 
prepared  seed  bed  is  more  important  than  in  the  latter, 
and  in  the  latter  the  plow  renders  greater  service  in 
destroying  weeds  because  of  their  relatively  greater 
prevalence. 

The  unbroken  soil  of  the  prairie  is  dry,  and  because 
it  is  dry  it  is  usually  hard  to  break  with  the  plow.  It 
would  probably  be  correct  to  say  that  the  larger  portion 
of  the  soil  of  the  semi-arid  country  has  not  been  wet 
down  to  a  greater  depth  than  3  to  4  feet  at  any  time 
before  it  was  broken  with  the  plow,  and  into  much 
of  it  water  has  never  penetrated  thus  deeply.  This  dry 
condition  is  the  outcome  of  a  light  precipitation,  but  to 
an  even  greater  extent  it  results  from  the  relatively  small 
proportion  that  enters  the  soil  of  that  which  does  fall. 
When  the  soil  is  broken  with  the  plow,  the  water  that 
falls  may  enter  it  readily,  and  the  more  deeply  that 
the  land  is  thus  loosened,  at  least  to  a  certain  limit, 
the  more  moisture  does  it  absorb  and  the  more  deeply 
does  it  penetrate  the  soil.  This  explains  why  the  sub- 


124  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

soil  in  semi-arid  areas  that  are  properly  cultivated  is 
much  more  moist  than  it  was  before  the  land  had  been 
broken. 

But  breaking  up  the  land  admits  the  air  as  well  as 
the  moisture.  This  of  course  aids  in  preparing  the  soil 
for  becoming  a  suitable  home  for  the  roots  of  plants. 
When  air  penetrates  a  moist  soil,  it  aids  in  bringing  about 
mechanical  and  chemical  changes  that  prepare  food  for 
plants.  These  processes  come  practically  to  a  standstill 
when  the  soil  is  virtually  destitute  of  moisture,  or  when 
it  has  an  excess  of  the  same.  In  semi-arid  regions  ex- 
cessive aeration  is  to  be  carefully  guarded  against.  It 
is  excessive  when  it  aids  in  the  removal  of  moisture 
that  is  needed  from  the  top  soil.  To  prevent  this  as  far 
as  it  may  be  possible,  the  soil  is  usually  compressed  or 
firmed  soon  after  it  has  been  plowed. 

On  land  that  has  never  been  plowed,  it  would  not 
be  easy  to  form  a  seed  bed.  It  could  of  course  be  done 
with  the  disc,  but  to  make  it  thus  would  involve  much 
labor,  and  it  would  not  be  satisfactory  when  made.  The 
plow  alone  does  not  form  a  seed  bed,  but  it  puts  the 
land  in  a  condition  so  that  the  work  can  be  completed 
with  the  aid  of  other  implements.  A  good  seed  bed  in 
dry  areas  should  be:  (1)  fine  and  mellow  on  the  top  two 
or  three  inches  of  soil  and  firm  but  not  hard  below ;  (2) 
as  free  as  possible  from  weed  seeds  and  the  presence 
of  perennial  weed  growth,  and  (3)  moist  enough  to  ger- 
minate the  seeds  of  crops  that  are  planted  on  the  soil. 
To  insure  these  ends  the  plowing  must  be  done  at  a  cer- 
tain time  and  in  a  certain  way,  but  after  the  land  has 
been  plowed  the  roller,  the  harrow  and  sometimes  the 
disc  must  usually  be  more  or  less  used. 

After  ground  has  been  broken  with  the  plow,  the 
seed  bed  is  frequently  prepared  by  the  aid  of  the  disc 
and  harrow  only.  This  plan  is  generally  followed  after 
cultivated  crops,  and  for  the  reason  chiefly  that  moisture 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  125 

may  thus  be  conserved  to  a  greater  extent  than  if  the 
land  were-  plowed. 

In  humid  areas  there  is  usually  a  very  considerable 
aftergrowth  of  weeds  and  other  plants  amid  the  stubbles 
of  fields  that  have  grown  grain.  This  does  not  usually 
follow  to  anything  like  the  same  extent  in  dry  areas, 
but  even  in  the  latter  weed  growth  is  frequently  more  or 
less  troublesome.  The  plow,  better  than  any  other  im- 
plement, buries  weeds  that  are  thus  in  process  of  growth, 
and  prevents  them  from  further  seeding.  For  this  rea- 
son among  others  it  is  frequently  the  aim  to  plow  the 
land  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the  previous  grain 
crop  has  been  removed. 

The  time  for  plowing. — Plowing  may  be  done  at  any 
season  in  humid  climates  where  the  frost  does  not  hinder 
the  work.  It  is  not  so  in  arid  or  semi-arid  areas.  In 
some  of  these  the  ground  cannot  be  plowed  at  certain 
seasons  without  great  labor  and  the  expenditure  of  much 
power,  because  of  the  overdryness  of  the  soil.  In  such< 
areas  the  chief  of  the  seasons  for  plowing  are:  (1)  the 
spring;  (2)  the  summer,  and  (3)  the  autumn. 

In  the  semi-arid  country  spring  plowing  is  very  com- 
monly practised  more  or  less  on  almost  every  farm.  The 
advantages  from  spring  plowing  are:  (1)  The  work  is 
then  more  easily  done  than  in  the  autumn  as  a  rule  be- 
cause of  the  greater  moisture  content  in  the  soil.  (2) 
Where  snow  falls  in  wind-swept  areas  more  moisture 
enters  the  soil  on  stubble  land  when  the  snow  melts, 
as  the  stubbles  have  aided  in  holding  the  snow.  (3)  The 
homesteader  may  grow  some  crops  the  year  that  he  lo- 
cates, although  no  land  had  been  plowed  the  previous 
year. 

The  disadvantages  from  spring  plowing  are:  (1) 
The  crop  cannot  be  planted  in  time,  or  at  least  much  of  it 
cannot.  (2)  The  soil  has  not  had  time  to  settle  upon  it- 
self before  it  is  sown,  hence  the  lower  section  of  the 


126  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

seed  bed  is  not  firm  enough  to  grow  the  crop  planted  on 
it  in  best  form,  should  a  dry  season  follow.  (3)  The 
seed  bed  is  less  warm  for  early  sown  crops,  hence  early 
growth  in  these  will  be  less  vigorous  than  on  autumn 
plowed  land.  (4)  No  time  has  been  given  between  the 
plowing  and  the  sowing  for  the  unlocking  of  inert  plant 
food  through  weathering  influences.  In  dry  areas  crops 
will  suffer  much  more  as  a  rule  on  spring  than  on  au- 
tumn plowed  land,  should  the  rainfall  be  less  than  nor- 
mal. Among  the  crops  that  will  be  the  least  harmed  un- 
der these  conditions  when  sown  or  planted  on  spring 
plowed  land,  are  flax,  corn  and  potatoes.  Where  rain 
falls  chiefly  in  the  late  autumn  and  winter  months, 
the  aim  should  be  to  grow  winter  rather  than  spring 
crops.  If  the  latter  are  grown,  the  only  hope  of  success 
comes  from  planting  them  early. 

When  land  is  plowed  in  the  summer  it  is  for  fallow 
rather  than  for  growing  a  crop  that  season.  The  best  time 
*for  such  plowing  is  dependent  to  a  considerable  degree  on 
the  time  of  the  greatest  precipitation.  When  rain  falls 
chiefly  in  the  late  autumn  and  winter,  the  time  for  plow- 
ing fallow  land  should  begin  as  early  as  such  plowing 
is  practicable,  even  in  the  autumn  and  winter  months, 
that  it  may  open  the  soil  for  the  easier  penetration  of 
moisture  into  it  when  it  falls.  The  plowing  of  such 
fallow  land  should  not  take  place  later  than  early  spring, 
as  subsequently  much  of  the  moisture  would  have  es- 
caped from  it  and  more  would  not  fall  to  take  the  place 
of  what  had  been  lost.  Where  the  bulk  of  the  precipi- 
tation falls  during  the  growing  period,  as  in  much  of  the 
Plains  country,  the  best  time  to  plow  fallow  land  as  a  rule 
is  in  the  months  of  May  and  June,  as  then  it  usually  has 
the  largest  amount  of  moisture  in  it.  The  plowing  is 
then  more  easily  done  than  at  any  other  time.  Much 
of  the  moisture  then  in  the  soil  may  be  retained  by  judi- 
cious management,  and  it  may  thus  be  made  to  aid  the 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  127 

crop  that  follows.  When  the  plowing  of  fallow  land 
is  deferred  until  much  of  the  moisture  has  left  the  soil, 
the  effect  upon  the  crop  that  follows  will  be  proportion- 
ately adverse.  In  the  Plains  country,  land  for  fallow, 
or,  as  it  is  frequently  called,  summer  tillage,  may  be 
plowed  in  the  spring,  but  there  is  seldom  opportunity 
for  such  plowing,  as  then  it  is  that  the  crops  must  be 
planted.  When  land  can  be  broken  in  May  and  June, 
a  strong  argument  is  found  in  favor  of  such  breaking 
in  the  fact  that  sod  broken  at  a  season  when  the  grasses 
are  succulent  rots  much  more  quickly  than  if  broken 
when  the  vegetation  is  dry  and  dead. 

The  advantages  from  plowing  in  the  autumn  include 
the  following:  (1)  When  the  work  is  done  at  that  season 
the  crops  may  be  sown  quite  early  in  the  spring,  which 
gives  them  the  benefit  of  all  the  moisture  that  falls 
subsequently.  (2)  The  turning  up  of  the  soil  exposes  it 
to  all  the  benefit  that  comes  from  weathering  influences, 
as  sun,  air,  rain  and  frost.  The  soil  is  thus  mellowed  on 
the  surface,  which  makes  easy  the  forming  of  a  good  seed 
bed.  The  liberated  fertility  is  thus  made  easily  accessi- 
ble to  the  young  plants.  (3)  The  soil  has  time  to 
settle  on  itself,  thus  giving  the  necessary  firmness  to 
the  lower  section  of  the  seed  bed.  (4)  Opportunity  is 
thus  furnished  for  the  entrance  into  the  soil  of  the 
precipitation  that  falls  on  it  in  the  interval  between  plow- 
ing and  sowing  the  crop.  (5)  When  ground  is  thus 
plowed  in  the  fall  the  opportunity  is  furnished  to  harrow 
or  disc  it  as  soon  as  this  may  be  done  in  the  spring 
without  injury  to  the  land,  a  process  that  will  quite  ef- 
fectively prevent  the  loss  of  moisture. 

The  disadvantages  of  fall  plowing  include:  (1)  The 
difficulty  that  is  frequently  found  in  doing  the  work  be- 
cause of  the  lack  of  moisture  in  the  soil.  This  applies 
more  to  breaking  than  to  stubble  land,  but  it  applies  to 
all  land  previously  broken  and  plowed  shallow.  To  plow 


128  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

such  land  to  the  proper  depth  calls  for  the  use  of  much 
power,  which  means  that  it  is  relatively  expensive.  (2) 
Land  thus  plowed  does  not  hold  the  snow  as  stubble  land 
does,  hence  the  moisture  that  melted  snow  brings  to 
stubble  land  when  not  too  much  frost-locked  does  not 
come  to  plowed  land  to  the  same  extent.  On  the  other 
hand,  should  the  precipitation  come  in  the  form  of  rain 
with  but  little  frost  in  the  soil,  it  will  penetrate  the 
plowed  soil  much  more  readily  than  unplowed  soil.  (3) 
Should  stubble  land  be  cloddy  when  it  is  plowed  in  the 
autumn,  and  but  little  precipitation  fall  during  the 
winter,  the  lower  section  of  the  seed  bed  would  be  in  a 
very  poor  condition  for  promoting  growth  because  of  its 
lack  of  density. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  apparent  that 
the  balance  of  argument  favors  summer  and  autumn 
plowing.  The  practise  of  the  best  farmers  recognizes  this 
fact,  and  it  is  coming  to  be  more  and  more  recognized 
as  time  goes  on.  The  plowing  of  wet  soils  has  not 
been  discussed,  and  for  the  reason  chiefly  that  in  the 
arid  and  semi-arid  areas  the  soil  is  seldom  too  wet  to 
plow.  This  does  not  apply  to  all  soils,  as  those  affected 
by  seepage  water,  or  to  soils  known  as  "adobe"  or  "gum- 
bo." The  former  should  be  drained  before  they  are  tilled. 
The  latter  must  not  be  plowed  when  unduly  wet,  or  it 
will  be  impossible  to  pulverize  them  subsequently.  On 
the  other  land,  if  left  until  unduly  dry  it  is  virtually  im- 
possible to  overtake  the  work. 

The  depth  to  plow. — Testimony  is  practically  a  unit 
that  lands  should  be  plowed  deeply  in  dry  areas.  The  ar- 
guments in  favor  of  deep  plowing  include  the  following : 
(1)  It  increases  the  storage  capacity  of  the  soil  to  receive 
water  that  falls  upon  it  and  in  proportion  to  the  depth 
of  the  plowing.  Should  a  soil  be  broken  to  the  depth  of 
only  3  inches  and  should  a  heavy  rain  fall  on  the  same, 
the  soil  would  only  absorb  the  rain  quickly  to  the  depth 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  129 

to  which  it.  had  been  plowed.  The  excess  of  the  rain 
above  what  the  3  inches  of  soil  will  absorb  must  run 
away  over  the  surface,  and  in  doing  so  it  will  carry  away 
the  finer  and  more  valuable  portions  of  the  soil  in  propor- 
tion as  such  excess  of  precipitation  is  present.  Buffum 
has  affirmed  that  soils  which  will  hold  20  per  cent,  of 
moisture  will  not  store  more  than  7-10  inches  of  rain 
when  plowed  3  inches  deep,  nor  more  than  1.4  inches 
when  plowed  6  inches  deep,  but  when  plowed  9  inches 
they  will  store  more  than  2  inches  of  rain.  Water  thus 
caught  will  sink  down  slowly  into  the  lower  soil 
and  will  thus  tend  to  equalize  its  movements  and  distri- 
bution. (2)  It  improves  the  tilth  and  the  producing 
powers  of  soils.  These  results  follow  from  the  pulver- 
izing influences  brought  about  by  the  deep  stirring  of 
the  land  and  from  the  increase  in  aeration,  warmth,  and 
in  the  activity  of  bacterial  agents  in  the  soil.  (3)  It  en- 
larges the  feeding  ground  for  the  roots  of  plants,  because 
of  the  greater  ease  with  which  their  roots  may  find  food 
in  a  soil  thus  broken  and  stirred.  (4)  Lifting  with  the 
winds  may  to  some  extent  be  reduced  because  of  the 
more  pronounced  character  of  the  depressions  between 
the  furrows.  But  too  much  must  not  be  made  of  this  ad- 
vantage, as  it  is  frequently  necessary  to  obliterate  such 
furrows  soon  after  plowing  by  the  use  of  implements  of 
tillage. 

The  depth  to  plow  will  vary  with  the  soil.  It  should 
seldom  be  less  than  6  inches  or  more  than  10  inches. 
When  plowing  deeply,  the  timeliness  for  this  and  the  cost 
of  the  same  should  not  be  lost  sight  of.  It  may  cost 
less  in  one  instance  to  plow  soil  7  to  8  inches  than  to 
plow  it  4  inches  in  another  instance,  because  of  a  differ- 
ence in  the  moisture  content  in  the  soil.  Deep  plowing 
is  never  more  opportunely  done  than  in  connection  with 
the  plowing  of  fallow  land,  providing  the  latter  is  plowed 
at  that  season  when  it  has  the  largest  amount  of  mois- 


130  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ture  in  it.  The  work  can  then  be  done  with  a  minimum 
expenditure  of  power,  and  there  is  time  for  weathering 
influences  to  become  operative  before  the  planting  of  the 
crop  that  follows.  The  aim  should  be  also  to  plow  the 
land  more  deeply  when  preparing  it  for  certain  crops 
.than  when  preparing  it  for  other  crops.  Deep  plowing 
is  specially  beneficial  to  alfalfa,  corn,  root  crops  and 
trees.  As  a  rule  gradual  deepening  of  the  plowing  is 
preferable  to  sudden  deepening,  as  it  gives  greater  op- 
portunity for  weathering  influences  to  operate  on  the 
raw  soil.  It  is  also  more  important  relatively  that  land 
shall  be  plowed  deeply  in  the  fall  than  in  the  spring,  as 
the  soil  has  more  time  to  settle  firmly  below  than  if 
spring  plowed. 

While  in  dry  areas  the  aim  should  be  to  plow  deep- 
ly on  average  soil,  there  are  some  exceptions  to  the 
method  which  plows  deeply.  These  apply  only  to  cer- 
tain soils  and  soil  conditions.  Land  should  not  be  plowed 
deeply  (1)  where  the  soil  is  shallow  or  poor  below,  or 
where  the  elements  of  fertility  are  largely  in  an  unavail- 
able form;  especially  should  this  be  avoided  where  too 
much  lime  or  gypsum  lies  near  the  surface.  The  gradual 
deepening  of  a  soil  possessed  of  a  reasonable  amount  of 
fertility,  though  largely  in  the  inert  form,  will  greatly  im- 
prove it  in  time.  (2)  Where  the  conditions  present  ren- 
der the  work  over-costly  and  difficult.  These  conditions 
are  such  as  relate  to  soils  hard  and  dry,  to  the  use  of 
plows  not  suited  to  such  work,  and  to  the  lack  of  strength 
in  the  teams  that  do  the  work.  Were  it  not  for  the 
extra  cost,  it  would  be  better  to  plow  deeply  even  when 
soils  are  dry  and  hard,  especially  in  the  autumn,  but 
there  is  a  limit  to  the  cost  of  plowing,  beyond  which 
it  may  be  unwise  to  go.  Furthermore,  when  dry  land 
is  plowed  deeply,  even  in  the  autumn,  there  may  be 
seasons  in  which  the  dry  soil  thus  loosened  may  not  wet 
down  far  enough  to  become  sufficiently  impacted  for.  the 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  131 

proper  growing  of  the  next  crop.  But  deep  plowing  is  to 
be  preferred  in  the  autumn  when  it  can  be  done,  as, 
should  rain  come,  many  western  soils  can  take  up  40 
per  cent,  of  moisture.  One-third  of  that  amount  rightly 
used  will  grow  a  good  crop.  (3)  Where  plowing  is  done 
in  the  late  spring  and  a  crop  is  to  be  grown  on  it  that 
season,  as  the  crop  will  start  readily  in  the  top  soil  thus 
loosened  and  the  roots  find  firm  soil  below. 

The  depth  of  the  plowing  in  dry  areas  should  not  be 
uniform,  that  is  it  should  be  deeper  for  some  purposes 
than  others.  If  land  is  plowed  uniformly  at  the  same 
depth  from  season  to  season  the  soil  at  the  bottom  of  the 
furrow  becomes  hardened  by  the  smoothing  and  com- 
pressing action  of  the  sole  of  the  plow  and  the  tramping 
of  the  horses.  This  condition  is  unfavorable  to  capillary 
action.  When  land  is  broken  deeply,  as  it  should  gen- 
erally be  broken,  it  will  be  better  in  some  instances  to 
plow  say  two  inches  shallower  the  next  time,  so  that 
the  buried  sod  may  have  longer  time  to  decay  before  it 
is  again  exposed  to  drying  atmospheric  influences.  The 
plan  of  plowing  sod  land  shallow  and  then  backsetting 
it  later  in  the  season  by  plowing  it  more  deeply,  has 
found  favor  in  many  of  the  provinces  of  Canada  and  in 
some  portions  of  the  north  western  states. 

The  kind  of  plow  to  use. — Plows  as  adapted  to  work 
in  dry  areas  may  be  divided  into  three  classes.  These 
are:  (1)  the  mold-board  plow;  (2)  the  disc  plow,  and 
(3)  the  deep  tilling  machine.  Of  the  first  two  there  are 
several  modifications. 

The  mold-board  plow  cuts  the  furrow  slice  and  turns 
it  over.  Owing  to  the  shape  of  the  mold-board,  it  packs 
the  furrow  slice  more  or  less,  thus  causing  it  to  lie  more 
or  less  smoothly  against  the  furrow  previously  turned. 
A  plow'  with  a  long  mold-board  is  best  for  some  kinds 
of  breaking.  One  with  a  short  mold-board  and  pos- 
sessed of  abrupt  curvative  aids  to  some  extent  in 


132 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


breaking  up  and  pulverizing  the  land  which  it  turns. 
For  hard  clays  and  some  other  soils  the  steel  mold-board 
is  probably  better  than  the  chilled.  It  should  have  in- 


5  I 


II 


terchangeable  lays  or  shares,  which  must  be  sharpened 
occasionally  if  the  work  is  to  be  efficiently  done.  On 
very  hard  soils  cast  shares  may  be  cheaper.  These,  of 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  133 

course,  cannot  be  sharpened.  Because  of  the  extensive 
areas  that  are  cultivated  in  dry  regions,  the  sulky,  that 
is,  the  riding  plow,  is  most  commonly  used.  The  mold- 
board  plow  will  do  better  work  than  the  disc  where  the 
conditions  are  favorable  for  using  it,  but  the  disc  plow 
has  also  an  important  place. 

The  disc  plow  consists  of  one  or  more  large  discs  set 
at  an  angle  that  will  turn  over  the  furrow  slice,  but  less 
perfectly  than  the  mold-board  plow.  It  has  been  found 
preferable  to  the  mold-board  plow  under  the  following 
conditions:  (1)  In  heavy  clay  soils  that  are  hard  to 
plow  and  that  are  more  or  less  liable  to  become  sticky. 
(2)  In  plowing  land  baked  so  hard  with  the  sun  that  it 
is  difficult  to  keep  the  mold-board  plow  in  the  soil.  (3) 
In  the  first  plowing  of  sage  brush  land  when  the  brush 
is  strong.  (4)  In  plowing  stony  land  which  could  not 
be  plowed  with  the  mold-board  plow  without  much  diffi- 
culty. The  disc  plow  is  frequently  used  when  plowing 
stubble  land  and  old  land  generally.  It  is  lighter  of 
draught  than  the  mold-board  plow.  It  does  not  bury 
grass  or  weeds  so  completely  as  the  latter.  The  deep 
tilling  machine  is  a  plow  with  two  discs.  The  one  in 
front  cuts  down  to  a  certain  depth  and  turns  the  soil. 
The  one  in  the  rear  cuts  down  more  deeply  and  turns 
the  soil  from  a  lower  stratum,  inverting  it,  in  part  at  least, 
above  the  furrow  slice  first  inverted.  Among  the 
advantages  of  this  plow  are  the  following:  (1)  It  is 
light  of  draught  relatively  in  proportion  to  the  depth 
to  which  it  will  plow.  (2)  It  may  be  used  in  plow- 
ing ground  when  it  is  so  dry  that  it  could  not  be 
plowed  with  the  moldboard  plow.  (3)  It  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  plow  the  soil  to  any  reasonable  depth.  (4)  It 
aids  materially  in  pulverizing  the  soil  which  it  plows. 
This  plow  will  probably  render  most  excellent  service  in 
much  of  the  dry  area,  but  its  introduction  is  too  recent 


134  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

to  justify  the  statement  as  to  the  relative  importance  of 
the  place  that  it  will  occupy  among  the  plows  used. 

There  is  a  place  also  for  the  lister  plow  in  dry  areas. 
It  is  a  plow  which  throws  the  soil  out  both  ways.  It  is 
used  chiefly  in  connection  with  planting  corn.  It  opens 
furrows  only  where  the  corn  is  to  be  planted.  The  seed 
is  drilled  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow,  either  by  a  drill 
attachment  to  the  lister,  or  by  a  separate  drill.  Corn 
planted  thus  deeply  will  stand  drought  better  than  when 
planted  in  the  ordinary  way,  but  planting  it  thus,  is  in 
some  instances  attended  with  some  hazard  (see  p.  279). 

Power  to  use  in  plowing. — The  three  kinds  of  power 
used  in  plowing  at  the  present  time  are:  (1)  farm  ani- 
mals, especially  horses  and  mules ;  (2)  steam  power,  and 
(3)  gasoline  power.  Electricity  generated  by  mountain 
streams  may  yet  become  a  source  of  power  in  conduct- 
ing some  of  the  operations  of  the  farm. 

After  the  land  has  been  broken,  and  even  when 
breaking  it,  horses  and  mules  will  be  used  to  a  far  greater 
extent  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  by  the  average  farmer, 
than  any  other  source  of  power.  The  more  diversified 
the  character  of  the  farming,  the  greater  will  be  the 
necessity  for  using  such  power,  for  reasons  that  will  be 
manifest.  The  new  settler  may  find  it  very  expensive 
to  use  this  class  of  power  until  he  can  grow  the  food 
called  for  to  maintain  the  animals  that  do  the  work.  Ox 
labor  will  usually  be  found  cheaper  than  the  labor  of 
horses  or  mules  when  breaking  land,  a  fact  that  has 
apparently  been  almost  entirely  overlooked  during  recent 
years. 

Steam  traction  engines  are  frequently  used  in  break- 
ing land,  especially  when  areas  large  and  long  are  to  be 
broken.  Where  all  the  conditions  are  favorable,  as  when 
coal  and  water  do  not  have  to  be  drawn  too  far,  the  steam 
engine  may  prove  satisfactory  when  breaking  land,  but 
subsequently  the  great  weight  of  the  engine  makes  it 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  135 

costly  to  propel  it  over  the  loose  soil.  In  some  instances 
the  compaction  resulting  from  the  great  weight  of  the 
wheels  may  do  harm.  In  some  countries  of  Europe  the 
engines  are  stationary  and  are  placed  at  each  end  of  the 
field.  Plows,  harrows  and  seeders  are  drawn  over  the 
land  by  the  aid  of  cables.  The  comparative  merits  of 
these  and  of  traction  engines  has  not  yet  been  proved  in 
America. 


BREAKING  WITH  STEAM  POWER,  STARK  COUNTY,  NORTH  DAKOTA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

Engines  propelled  by  gasoline  and  kerosene  power 
will  probably  be  used  to  a  greater  extent  on  the  dry 
farm  than  those  propelled  by  steam,  especially  after  the 
land  has  been  broken.  But  these  also  in  some  instances 
compress  the  land  overmuch,  through  the  weight  of 
their  ponderous  wheels.  Yet  again  in  other  instances, 
such  compression  may  be  -beneficial,  as  when  moisture 


136  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

is  unduly  lacking.  Where  such  power  is  used  the  rea- 
sonably small  engine  is  to  be  preferred  on  the  average 
farm.  It  is  not  so  unwieldy  as  the  more  ponderous  en- 
gine, and  can  therefore  be  used  under  a  greater  variety 
of  conditions. 

When  steam  or  gasoline  power  is  used  in  plowing, 
the  aim  should  be  to  smooth  the  land  by  rolling  or  in 
some  other  way  compressing  it,  and  to  form  on  it  a  dust 
mulch  with  the  aid  of  a  harrow,  the  plowing,  smoothing 
and  harrowing  being  completed  in  the  one  operation. 
The  plan  which  turns  over  large  areas  of  land  in  the  early 
summer  and  leaves  them  thus  all  season  without  further 
working  is  to  be  condemned  in  unmeasured  terms. 

Although  the  use  of  steam  and  especially  gasoline 
power  is  rapidly  extending  in  the  semi-arid  regions,  and 
especially  in  the  breaking  up  of  the  prairie,  the  exact 
place  that  these  will  occupy  in  the  future  in  the  farming 
of  these  areas  cannot  now  be  forecasted.  The  behavior 
of  those  engines  in  the  future  cannot  be  gauged  by  their 
behavior  in  the  past,  as  many  of  those  who  have  manned 
them  have  not  been  sufficiently  skilled  to  get  from  them 
all  the  work  that  they  are  capable  of  doing.  For  a  simi- 
lar reason  the  breakages  have  been  overfrequent  and 
costly.  While  there  is  certainly  a  place  for  the  use  of 
such  power  on  the  farm,  that  place  has  not  as  yet  been 
definitely  determined.  That  ground  may  be  plowed  and 
pulverized  and  the  crop  sown  on  it  by  the  aid  of  such 
power  cannot  be  questioned.  The  relative  cost,  however, 
as  compared  with  horse  labor,  is  yet  an  open  question. 

Good  plowing  in  dry  areas. — It  is  important  that 
plowing  shall  be  well  done  under  all  conditions,  because 
of  the  important  bearing  that  such  plowing  has  on  the 
retention  of  soil  moisture.  When  land  is  plowed  shallow, 
the  furrow  slice  being  imperfectly  turned,  and  there  are 
many  skips  in  the  plowing,  it  will  be  at  once  apparent 
that  a  good  seed  bed  cannot  be  made  on  such  land.  In 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  137 

the  absence  of  a  good  seed  bed,  crop  production  is  doubly 
hazardous  in  a  dry  country. 

Good  plowing  may  be  defined  as  follows:  (1)  a 
straight  and  evenly  turned  furrow  of  uniform  depth; 
(2)  a  furrow  so  turned  that  it  will  lie  well  over  against 
the  furrow  previously  turned,  so  that  air  spaces  under- 
neath will  be  excluded  to  the  greatest  extent  possible ;  (3) 
plowing  in  which  skips  are  entirely  absent  and  in  which 
the  cut  and  cover  method  has  no  place ;  (4)  plowing 
which  completely  buries  all  rubbish  and  grass  and  in 
which  the  furrow  slice  is  crushed  more  or  less ;  (5)  plow- 
ing of  such  depth  as  is  best  suited  to  the  conditions  under 
which  the  work  is  done  and  to  the  needs  of  the  crop 
which  is  to  follow. 

If  good  work  is  to  be  done,  careful  attention  must 
be  given  to  the  condition  of  the  land  and  of  the  plows. 
Good  work  cannot  be  done  on  land  plowed  overwet  or 
overdry.  Some  soils,  especially  those  known  as  gumbo, 
will  become  so  hard  if  they  are  plowed  when  overwet 
that  they  cannot  be  pulverized  properly  when  preparing 
a  seed  bed,  even  though  much  labor  should  be  expended 
on  the  same.  When  lands  are  cloddy,  it  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  do  good  work  when  plowing  them.  It  is  also 
greatly  important  that  the  plows  shall  be  kept  in  first- 
class  condition.  They  should  be  kept  free  from  rust 
by  housing  and  proper  oiling  when  they  are  not  in  use, 
and  by  keeping  the  shares  sharp  and  in  shape  when  they 
are  being  used.  Usually  it  will  result  in  better  work 
when  the  furrow  slice  is  cut  rather  less  than  the  full 
width  that  the  plow  can  cut. 

Subsoil  plowing  in  dry  areas. — In  the  true  sense  of 
the  term  subsoil  plowing  means  a  loosening  or  breaking 
up  of  the  soil  to  a  greater  or  lesser  distance  below  the 
depth  to  which  land  is  ordinarily  plowed.  The  land  so 
loosened  is  not  brought  any  nearer  to  the  surface.  The 
term  has  been  improperly  applied  to  the  process  which 


138  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

brings  up  soil  from  below  the  sole  of  the  furrow  made 
by  the  first  plowing  and  places  it  on  top  of  the  furrow 
slice  first  made.  It  is  simply  deep  plowing,  the  addi- 
tional depth  being  gained  by  running  the  plow  twice  in 
the  same  place,  the  second  plowing  being  deeper  than 
the  first.  Where  the  elements  in  the  subsoil  are  very 
similar  in  kind  and  condition  to  those  in  the  top  soil/ 
the  practise  is  to  be  commended,  but  where  the  food  ele- 
ments in  the  lower  soil  are  in  a  raw  and  undigested  con- 
dition, the  practise  is  to  be  strongly  condemned,  as  it 
will  certainly  be  followed  by  a  lessened  production.  The 
inert  plant  food  thus  brought  to  the  surface  cannot  be 
taken  up  by  plants  until  it  has  been  made  available  by 
what  are  termed  weathering  influences. 

There  are  different  kinds  of  subsoil  plows.  One  of 
these  simply  tears  through  the  lower  soil  much  after  the 
fashion  of  a  curved  harrow  tooth.  It  consists  of  a  steel 
bar  attached  to  and  running  below  the  plow  that  turns 
the  top  furrow.  In  other  instances  it  consists  of  a  wedge- 
like  shoe  attached  to  the  lower  part  of  the  steel  bar, 
which  is  drawn  forward  through  the  lower  soil.  In 
many  instances  the  subsoiler  is  not  attached  to  the  or- 
dinary plow,  but  more  commonly  it  runs  in  the  furrow 
made  by  the  former. 

The  objects  sought  in  subsoiling  are:  (1)  to  deepen 
the  area  which  the  roots  of  plants  may  readily  penetrate 
in  search  of  food;  (2)  to  increase  the  capacity  of  soils. 
for  receiving  and  storing  water  more  readily  that  comes 
in  the  form  of  precipitation;  (3)  to  facilitate  the  libera- 
tion of  plant  food  in  the  lower  soil  by  allowing  air  and 
water  the  more  readily  to  penetrate  it.  It  will  be  readily 
apparent,  therefore,  that  the  benefits  resulting  from  sub- 
soiling  will  be  largely  dependent  on  the  character  of  the 
soil  and  especially  the  subsoil,  also  the  character  of  the 
crops  as  deep  or  shallow  rooted.  Subsoiling  is  not  help- 
ful in  very  open  subsoils,  as  in  these  it  would  only  tend 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  139 

to  promote  excessive  leaching.  It  will  not  avail  in  un- 
drained  soils  until  they  are  drained,  if  they  hold  an  ex- 
cessive amount  of  water  for  any  considerable  period. 
The  necessity  for  subsoiling  in  dry  areas  and  the  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  it  have  called  forth  opinions  that  are 
more  or  less  conflicting.  Many  authorities  look  upon  it 
as  a  necessity  in  nearly  all  the  semi-arid  region.  They 
lose  sight,  apparently,  of  the  cost  of  subsoiling.  In  much 
of  the  semi-arid  region  the  limited  rainfall  does  not  call 
for  a  great  depth  of  stirred  soil  to  take  in  all  that  falls. 
When  once  thus  absorbed,  the  water  can  usually  go 
downward  with  sufficient  readiness  in  the  average  west- 
ern soils.  If  the  connection  between  the  upper  and  lower 
soils  is  too  much  disturbed,  the  upward  movement  of 
moisture  will  be  hindered  until  the  disturbed  soil  has 
time  to  settle  again. 

As  a  rule,  the  most  effective  subsoiling  mechanical 
in  character  is  that  which  stirs  the  soil  more  and  more 
deeply  by  a  gradual  process,  rather  than  by  stirring  it  to 
a  very  considerable  depth  at  once.  Usually  the  neces- 
sity for  going  more  deeply  than  12  to  18  inches  would 
not  seem  necessary  for  ordinary  cropping.  For  alfalfa 
and  also  for  field  roots,  it  may  sometimes  prove  helpful 
to  go  more  deeply. 

When  alfalfa  comes  to  be  generally  grown  in  dry 
areas,  subsoiling  mechanically  would  seem  to  be  un- 
necessary. It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of  subsoil- 
ing more  complete  than  that  furnished  by  the  roots  of  a 
good  stand  of  alfalfa  in  their  decay.  They  burrow  deeply 
in  the  subsoil  during  the  process  of  growth.  In  their 
decay  they  leave  it  honeycombed  with  avenues  leading 
downward.  Moisture  can  readily  go  down  in  these  and 
form  a  reserve  for  later  growth.  The  process  does  not 
cost  the  grower  anything. 

The  frequency  of  the  plowing. — The  frequency  with 
which  land  should  be  plowed  will  depend  to  some  extent 


140  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

on  the  way  in  which  the  land  is  worked,  to  some  extent 
on  the  season,  and  to  some  extent  on  the  annual  precipi- 
tation. The  aim  of  the  farmer  in  humid  areas  is  to  mul- 
tiply the  number  of  plowings  to  the  greatest  extent  prac- 
ticable. The  aim  of  the  farmer  in  dry  areas  should 
rather  be  to  plow  as  seldom  as  will  answer  the  needs  of 
the  system  of  cropping  followed.  The  more  frequently 
that  the  former  plows  the  more  effectively  does  he  de- 
stroy weeds  and  the  more  perfect  is  the  tilth  secured. 
The  more  frequently  that  the  latter  plows  his  land,  the 
more  difficult  is  it  for  him  to  retain  moisture  in  it. 

When  land  is  first  broken  the  aim  should  be  not  to 
turn  up  the  buried  sod  again,  until  it  has  reached  a  some- 
what advanced  stage  of  decay.  The  sod  will  rot  more 
quickly  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  than  when 
exposed  to  the  dry  air.  This  may  be  accomplished  in 
two  ways.  By  one  method  the  land,  if  plowed  for  the 
second  crop,  will  be  plowed  less  deeply  than  for  the 
first  crop,  providing  the  same  is  practicable.  By  the 
second  it  is  prepared  by  discing  fall  or  spring  or  both 
seasons.  A  seed  bed  thus  prepared  is  much  more  free 
from  sods  than  one  made  amid  upturned  and  imperfectly 
decayed  sods. 

When  plowing  land  for  fallow,  the  aim  should  be 
to  plow  but  once  during  the  season.  The  care  of  the 
fallow  should  be  done  with  other  implements  than  the 
plow.  Every  additional  plowing  given  to  the  land  adds 
to  the  difficulty  of  firming  it  sufficiently  to  prevent  the 
undue  escape  of  moisture.  A  second  plowing  is  allow- 
able should  the  weeds  prevail  to  such  an  extent  that 
other  implements  of  tillage  may  not  be  able  to  cope  with 
them  effectively.  It  is  also  necessary  when  a  green  crop 
is  grown  to  be  buried  in  conjunction  with  the  fallowing 
process,  to  add  plant  food  and  humus  to  the  soil. 

There  are  certain  times  also  when  discing  will  be 
preferable  to  plowing,  but  so  much  depends  upon  con- 


PLOWING  IN  DRY  AREAS  141 

ditions  that  it  is  not  easily  possible  to  lay  down  definite 
rules  that  will  serve  as  safe  guides  to  the  farmer.  Usu- 
ally land  may  be  prepared  for  a  crop  by  discing  with 
less  labor  than  by  plowing,  and  in  some  instances  such 
preparation  will  be  followed  by  better  results. 

Where  -the  precipitation  is  light  and  the  soil  is 
heavy,  the  practise  is  not  only  allowable,  but  it  may  be 
commendable  to  grow  the  second  grain  crop  after  care- 
ful summer-fallowing  by  discing  rather  than  by  plow- 
ing; such  preparation  involves  less  labor  and  it  will  in 
most  instances  hold  more  moisture.  The  second  crop 
will  not,  of  course,  equal  the  first,  but  more  grain  will 
result  from  such  a  system  of  cropping  than  from  sum- 
mer-fallowing and  cropping  alternate  years. 

When  the  first  plowing  has  been  done  in  the  spring 
and  it  has  been  shallow,  and  is  followed  by  a  dry  season, 
it  may  be  better  to  disc  than  to  plow,  whether  viewed 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  saving  of  labor  or  from  that 
of  the  conservation  of  moisture.  But  should  the  ground 
possess  a  fair  amount  of  moisture  at  the  time  for  plow- 
ing, then  plowing,  and  more  deeply  than  the  first  plow- 
ing, will  be  preferable. 

When  land  is  so  dry  that  it  cannot  be  plowed  to  a 
sufficient  depth  in  the  autumn,  and  when  if  plowed  it 
may  be  cloddy,  then  discing  is  preferable  to  plowing, 
and  the  following  spring  a  second  discing  may  be  in 
order. 

After  a  cultivated  crop,  it  is  seldom  that  the  plow 
should  be  used  in  making  a  seed  bed  in  preference  to  the 
disc,  lest  there  should  be  undue  loss  of  moisture,  and 
because  of  the  seed  bed  less  clean  that  would  follow. 
Lands  that  are  quite  light  are  also  frequently  better 
prepared  with  the  disc  than  the  plow.  When  thus  pre- 
pared, the  intermingling  stubbles  aid  somewhat  in  hin- 
dering the  blowing. 


142  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

In  some  instances  it  is  better  neither  to  plow  nor 
disc  for  a  crop,  as  for  instance  when  the  soil  is  very 
much  liable  to  lift  with  the  wind,  or  when  winter  wheat 
follows  a  grain  crop  under  climatic  conditions  where 
protection  is  necessary.  In  the  first  instance  discing 
would  add  to  the  lifting  of  the  soil,  and  in  the  second  it 
would  render  less  perfect  the  winter  protection.  The 
grain  in  both  instances  would  be  planted  by  the  simple 
process  of  drilling.  But  in  neither  instance  should  grain 
be  thus  planted  on  weedy  land. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  - 

Cultivation  in  the  broad  sense  includes  all  the  various 
processes  of  tillage.  In  the  discussion  that  follows  it 
will  include  virtually  all  of  these  processes  as  applicable 
to  dry  areas  except  plowing,  which  was  discussed  in 
chapter  VII.  These  include  subsurface  packing,  discing, 
cultivating  by  implements  other  than  the  disc,  harrowing, 
including  the  use  of  the  weeder,  rolling,  planking  and 
drilling.  The  discussion  will  also  include  the  main- 
tenance of  the  dust  mulch,  cultivation  suitable  for  grow- 
ing crops  and  clean  tillage  in  the  bare-fallow. 

Subsurface  packer  and  its  use. — The  subsurface 
packer  as  ordinarily  constructed  consists  of  a  series  of 
wedge  shaped  wheels,  which  revolve  on  a  common  axle. 
They  are  usually  about  18  inches  in  diameter  and  are 
placed  about  6  inches  apart.  They  thus  press  the  loose 
soil  downward  and  to  some  extent  laterally  when  in  use.- 
The  primary  object  sought  is  the  firming  of  the  land 
that  has  been  newly  plowed  toward  the  bottom  of  the 
furrow  slice  and  leaving  it  loose  and  friable  at  the  .sur- 
face. The  -pressure  of  the  soil  below  so  compacts  it  that 
moisture  from  the  firmer  subsoil  may  ascend  into  the 
less  firm  soil  in  the  lower  part  of  the  furrow  slice.  In 
other  words  it  re-establishes  the  capillary  connection 
broken  by  plowing  "the  land.  The  moisture  which  thus 
ascends  is  largely  prevented  from  escaping  by  using  the 
harrow  after  the  packer.  This  implement  also  aids  ma- 
terially in  crushing  lumps  in  cloddy  soils. 

The  subsurface  packer  may  be  used  with  advantage : 
(1)  On  spring  plowed  lands  that  are  loose  and  lacking 
in  moisture-holding  power.  (2)  On  lands  that  contain 
more  or  less  trash,  the  bulk  of  which  in  plowing  is  placed 
between  the  furrow  slice  and  the  unbroken  soil  below, 


144  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

and  which  in  dry  areas,  because  of  its  slow  decay,  pre- 
vents the  soil  moisture  that  is  below  from  properly  as- 
cending. (3)  On  land  that  is  dry  and  cloddy  at  the  time  of 
plowing,  whether  plowed  fall  or  spring.  The  aim  should 
be  to  avoid  plowing  land  when  in  that  condition  in  dry 
areas.  When  it  must  be  plowed,  the  disc  should  usually 
precede  the  plow  as,  when  it  does,  the  proportion  of 
fine  earth  is  increased  that  falls  at  the  bottom  of  the 
furrow  slice,  which  so  far  is  favorable  to  moisture  re- 
tention. 

The  packer  usually  follows  the  plow  the  same  day 
that  the  land  is  plowed,  and  in  some  instances  at  the 
end  of  each  half  day,  to  prevent  rapid  escape  of  mois- 
ture. The  harrow  should  at  once  follow  the  packer.  In 
many  instances,  the  packer  should  be  weighted  in  order 
to  firm  the  land  sufficiently.  More  commonly,  stones  are 
used  for  such  weighting. 

The  subsurface  packer  should  not  be  used:  (1)  On 
soil  that  is  sufficently  moist  when  it  is  plowed,  unless  in 
the  case  of  land  that  is  normally  deficient  in  moisture- 
holding  power.  (2)  On  fall  plowed  land  which,  under 
normal  conditions,  will  become  sufficiently  firmed  below 
by  the  time  that  the  season  has  arrived  for  sowing  in 
the  spring.  Much  of  the  bench  land  in  dry  .areas  is  of 
this  class.  Especially  is  this  true  of  such  of  them  as 
contain  much  lime,  gypsum,  granite  and  more  or  less 
sand.  To  use  the  packer  on  such  land  is  liable  to  dp 
serious  harm,  as  it  may  put  the  lower  soil  in  a  condition 
which  prevents  the  easy  penetration  of  the  roots  of  the 
plants  through  it.  To  keep  such  »soils  sufficiently  loose 
is  more  important  than  to  firm  them.  (3)  On  lands 
that  are  naturally  overtenacious,  as  stiff  clays- and  gumbo 
soils. 

The  claim  that  soil  should  be  packed  with  the  sub- 
soil packer  to  prevent  precipitation  from  going  too  far 
down  in  the  subsoil  is  not  tenable  save  in  soils  that  are 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  145 

overleachy.  It  is  harmful  in  its  tendencies,  since  in 
time  of  Heavy  rainfall  the  loss  from  "run  off"  water 
would  be  increased.  From  what  has  been  said  it  will 
also  be  apparent  that  while  there  is  an  important  place 
for  subsoil  packing  on  certain  soils,  the  claim  sometimes 
made  that  the  packer  should  in  all  instances  follow  the 
plow  cannot  be  defended. 

The  packers  most  commonly  in  use  are  not  of  very 
much  value.  They  are  too  diminutive  for  effective  work, 
and  the  wheels  are  of  cast  iron,  which  clog  in  damp  soil 
and  which  wear  quickly.  Among  the  best  are  the  Dun- 
ham soil  packers  and  pulverizers  combined.  The  Dun- 
ham rigid  frame  packer  and  pulverizer  is  8  feet  long 


THREE  SECTION  DUNHAM  PACKER  AND  PULVERIZER. 
15  Feet  Long.  * 

Courtesy  Deere  &  Webber  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

and  has  12  sections.  The  Dunham  flexible  packer  and 
pulverizer  is  of  two  sizes,  viz.,  10  and  12  feet  long,  with 
14  and  18  sections  respectively.  A  third  Dunham  packer 
and  pulverizer  is  15  feet  long  and  has  three  divisions. 
The  two  last  mentioned  implements  can  adjust  them- 
selves to  uneven  land. 

The  disc  and  its  use. — The  disc,  though  commonly 
classed  as  a'  harrow  in  common  with  certain  other  im- 
plements, will  not  be  so  considered  in  the  present  dis- 
cussion. The  same  may  also  be  said  of  the  cutaway 
harrow,  the  spring  tooth  harrow  and  the  alfalfa  har- 


146  DRY  LAND  FARMING  . 

row.  Clearly  these  are  cultivators  and  they  will  be  so 
considered.  They  are  all  used  for  digging  up  the  soil 
and  to  some  extent  for  pulverizing  it,  while  a  harrow 
simply  pulverizes,  with  the  additional  function  of  cover- 
ing the  seed.  A  true  harrow  has  spike  teeth  and  they 
are  dragged  through  the  soil  by  a  cutting  and  sliding 
rather  than  a  revolving  friction.  The  disc  is  more  com- 
monly used  for  loosening  up  the  surface  soil,  hence  it  is 
a  cultivator  rather  than  a  harrow.  It  consists  of  a  series 
of  wheels  from  12  to  20  inches  in  diameter,  which  are 
attached  to  an  axle  and  revolve  with  the  same  when  in 
use.  Those  most  in  favor  are  in  two  sections.  The 
wheels  have  a  sharp  cutting  edge,  are  to  some  extent 
concave  on  the  outer  side,  and  they  are  generally  used 
at  more  of  less  of  an  angle  to  enable  them  to  stir  the 
soil  effectively.  In  each  of  the  sections  the  discs  face 
outwards  and  this  leaves  a  deep  depression  in  the  center 
between  the  two  sections.  In  order  to  leave  the  land 
level  and  to  do  thorough  work,  what  is  termed  double 
discing  is  usually  practised.  Double  discing  means  draw- 
ing the  disc  over  the  land  in  one  direction  and  lapping 
the  implement  to  half  its  width  on  the  disced  land  on  the 
next  trip. 

The  value  of  the  disc  consists:  (1)  In  stirring  the 
surface  soil  more  effectively  and  to  a  greater  depth  than 
this  can  be  done  by  the  ordinary  harrow,  and  at  a  much 
less  expenditure  of  power  than  would  be  involved  in 
overturning  the  soil  with  the  gang-plow.  The  friction 
in  the  revolving  wheels  is  much  less  than  the  same 
would  be  in  the  dragging  plowshare.  (2)  In  loosening 
surfaces  too  much  impacted  to  be  readily  loosened  with 
the  ordinary  harrow.  (3)  In  making  a  deeper  seed  bed 
on  overturned  sod -lands  than  can  be  made  by  the  harrow 
alone.  (4)  In  destroying  weeds  that  are  too  firmly  rooted 
to  be  destroyed  by  the  harrow.  (5)  In  covering  seed,  and 
in  cultivating  crops  at  least  to  a  limited  extent. 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  147 

One  great  advantage  of  the  two-section  disc  cul- 
tivator arises  from  the  fairly  regular  depth  to  which 
the  disc  will  cut  regardless  of  the  unevenness  of  the 
surface.  A  double-action  disc  is  now  in  common  use 
which  will  double  disc  the  ground  at  one  operation.  The 
first  section  breaks  the  soil  and  the  second  reworks  and 
firms  it,  and  as  the  gangs  are  outthrow  and  inthrow  the 
land  is  left  in  a  good  condition.  The  size  of  the  wheels 
or  discs  is  ordinarily  from  12  to  20  inches,  and  the  width 
of  the  land  stirred  is  from  6  to  10  feet.  Usually  discs  14 
to  16  inches  in  diameter  do  more  effective  work  than 
those  that  are  narrower,  but  they  are  heavier  of  draft. 

The  disc  may  in  all  instances  be  used:  (1)  In  the 
early  spring  on  fall-plowed  land  that  has  become  more 
or  less  impacted,  to  aid  in  making  a  good  seed  bed.  (2) 
On  summer-fallowed  land,  in  the  absence  of  a  more  ef- 
fective implement,  to  dislodge  weeds  which  have  become 
so  firmly  rooted  that  the  ordinary  harrow  cannot  dislodge 
them.  (3)  On  summer-fallowed  land  to  break  the  sub- 
surface crust  that  in  some  instances  forms  beneath  the 
dust  mulch  made  by  the  harrow.  (4)  On  cultivated  land, 
as  corn,  when  preparing  it  for  the  grain  or  alfalfa  crop 
that  is  to  follow.  To  plow  such  land  would  result  in  the 
loss  of  moisture  and  would  bring  up  weed  seeds  from 
below,  which  would  tend  to  cover  the  land  with  weed 
life.  (5)  On  breaking  or  sod  land,  setting  the  discs  so 
straight  as  not  to  bring  up  sods.  The  object  is  to  press 
down  the  furrow  slice  and  to  aid  in  making  a  soil  mulch. 

It  may  be  used  in  many  instances :  (1)  On  stubble 
land  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the  grain  has  been  re- 
moved to  destroy  weeds  that  are  then  growing,  to  en- 
courage germination  in  weed  seeds  and  in  volunteer 
grain,  to  prevent  the  escape  of  subsoil  moisture,  to  open 
the  soil  for  the  easy  penetration  of  rain,  and  to  make 
more  easy  the  plowing  of  the  land  at  a  later  period. 


148  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

(2)  On  well  established  alfalfa  crops  in  the  early  spring 
in  the  absence  of  other  methods  of  stirring  the  soil,  and 
in  some  instances  after  certain  of  the  cuttings  of  the 
same,  the  object  being  to  destroy  weeds  and  to  aid  in 
maintaining  moisture.  (3)  When  preparing  the  land  for 
the  second  crop  on  breaking  where  it  has  not  been  back- 
set, as  such  preparation  gives  longer  time  for  the  sods 
to  decay  before  they  are  brought  up  again  to  the  surface. 
(4)  On  summer-fallowed  land  where  summer  downpours 
are  not  infrequent.  When  thus  used  the  land  should 
be  single  disced  lengthwise,  and  then  crosswise,  so  as 
to  make  little  basins  for  catching  the  ^water.  (5)  On 
sod  land  that  is  to  be  broken,  especially  if  the  work  can 
be  done  in  the  early  spring,  with  a  view  to  admit  more 
moisture  and  to  make  the  land  plow  more  easily  later. 
(6)  On  stubble  land  in  the  fall  or  early  spring,  that  is 
to  be  summer-fallowed,  to  encourage  the  sprouting  of 
weeds  and  the  deeper  penetration  of  moisture.  (7)  On 
autumn-sown  grain  in  the  spring  when  the  soil  has  be- 
come so  impacted  that  the  harrow  teeth  cannot  loosen 
it  sufficiently,  in  order  to  admit  air  and  moisture. 

The  disc  should  not  be  used  as  a  rule:  (1)  On  land 
that  is  so  loose  that  it  does  not  require  discing  to  make 
it  more  friable.  To  use  it  thus  would  be  labor  lost.  (2) 
In  preparing  land  for  a  crop  for  successive  years  on  the 
same  land,  or  even  in  a  single  instance,  when  plowing 
gives  promise  of  better  results.  The  disc  works  too  near 
the  surface  to  make  it  effective  in  doing  work  that  is 
usually  done  with  the  plow.  (3)  On  stubble  land  in 
which  winter  wheat  is  to  be  drilled  where  the  danger  is 
present  that  the  wheat  may  be  killed  by  the  severity  of 
the  weather. 

The  cutaway  disc  cultivator,  a  modified  disc,  fre- 
quently called  the  cutaway  disc  harrow,  may  render 
substantial  service  under  some  conditions  on  the  dry 
farm,  especially  in  fields  where  trash  and  sods  abound. 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  149 

The  blades  give  a  chopping  blow  and,  therefore,  cut 
more  deeply  in  hard  ground  than  the  round  disc,  but 
they  do  not  pulverize  it  so  well.  The  cutaway  disc  is 
something  of  a  mean  between  the  disc  and  the  spading 
disc,  which  is  virtually  a  form  of  disc  that  does  not  clog. 
It  can  be  used  on  rough  corn  ground,  for  instance,  sev- 
eral days  earlier  than  the  ordinary  disc. 

Cultivators  other  than  the  disc. — The  various  culti- 
vators in  use  are  very  many  and  for  each  there  would 


THE  MINNESOTA  CHIEF  SPRING  TOOTH  HARROW. 
Courtesy  Deere  &  Webber  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

seem  to  be  a  place  where  it  will  do  better  work  than 
can  be  done  by  other  cultivators.  In  dry  areas,  how- 
ever, the  number  of  these  that  are  highly  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  farmer  is  somewhat  limited.  Prominent 
among  these  are :  the  spring  tooth  cultivator,  frequently 
called  the  spring  tooth  harrow ;  the  clod  crusher ;  the 
Climax  cultivator;  the  alfalfa  cultivator;  the  alfalfa 
renovator,  sometimes  called  the  alfalfa  harrow ;  the 


150  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

surface  cultivator,  and  the  spike  tooth  cultivator. 
There  is  also  a  garden  cultivator,  of  which  that  known 
as  the  Planet  Jr.  is  one  of  the  best* 

The  spring  tooth  cultivators  are  of  several  types. 
Prominent  among  these  are  the  Old  Reliable,  with  wood 
frames,  and  the  Minnesota  Chief  (see  p..  149.)  The 
latter  has  a  steel  frame  and  it  is  of  such  construction 
that  it  acts  also  as  a  runner,  that  is,  it  has  runners  on 
the  two  sides  which  tend  to  lighten  the  draft.  The 
depth  to  which  the  teeth  cut  can  be  adjusted.  When 
they  meet  an  impediment  in  the  soil,  as  the  name  implies, 
they  are  so  flexible  that  they  spring  over  it  without 
breaking. 

The  clod  crusher  is  virtually  an  improvement  on 
the  Acme  harrow,  which  has  been  used  so  effectively 
on  wide  areas  in  the  humid  country,  and  which 
may  also  do  effective  work  under  dry  conditions  in 
certain  areas.  The  knives  of  this  very  useful  imple- 
ment are  curved  and  the  slant  given  them  is  adjustable. 
They  cut  into  the  soil  for  some  distance  and  fine  it  by 
crushing  the  lumps.  They  slice  off  ridges  and  hum- 
mocks, and  destroy  weeds  unless  they  are  strongly  rooted. 
The  rake  teeth  at  the  rear  still  further  fine,  smooth  and 
level  the  ground.  The  rear  gauge  wheels  make  it  pos- 
sible to  regulate  the  cutting  depth  of  the  knives.  It 
does  most  effective  work  while  the  clods  are  not  yet 
hard  and  dry. 

The  Climax  cultivator  is  a  wheel  cultivator  with  two 
or  three  sets  of  V-shaped  teeth  or  shares  of  different 
widths.  These  are  attached  to  iron  or  steel  bars  which 
project  downward  from  a  strong  frame.  The  shares  cut 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  are  adjustable  as  to 
the  depth  of  the  cutting.  The  different  widths  are  in- 
tended to  make  it  possible  to  cut  over  the  whole  surface 
or  a  part  of  it  or  to  dig  into  the  soil  rather  than  cut 
through  it.  This  implement,  considerably  used  in  some 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS 


151 


places  to  cut  off  such  weeds  as  the  Canada  thistle  below 
the  surface,  is  somewhat  heavy  of  draft. 

The  alfalfa  cultivator  (see  p.  317),  as  the  name 
implies,  is  specially  designed  to  cultivate  alfalfa  fields. 
The  round  curved  and  sharp  pointed  teeth  are  de- 
signed to  dig  into  the  soil  with  a  view  to  loosening  it 
for  some  distance  below  the  surface.  The  depth  to  which 
they  penetrate  the  soil  can  be  adjusted,  and  it  is  wholly 
independent  of  the  weight  of  the  machine.  A  seeder  at- 


THE  DEERE  CLOD  CRUSHER,  LEVELLER  AND  SMOOTHER. 
Courtesy  Deere  &  Webber  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

tachment  for  sowing  alfalfa  seed  may  be  secured  along 
with  the  cultivator,  which  makes  it  easily  practicable  to 
add  to  the  stand  of  the  plants. 

The  alfalfa  renovator  or  harrow  (see  p.  311)  is  a 
modification  of  the  ordinary  disc,  in  that  it  has  strong 
steel  spikes  projecting  from  the  discs.  The  Deere  alfalfa 
harrow  is  of  two  sizes,  6  and  7  feet  long  respectively, 
and  it  has  stationary  scrapers  to  aid  in  keeping  the  im- 
plement free  from  clogging  with  trash  when  in  use. 


152  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  surface  cultivator  (see  p.  278)  is  chiefly  used 
for  cultivating  corn,  but  may  be  used  in  cultivating 
various  other  plants.  As  the  name  implies,  it  works  the 
soil  near  the  surface  and  it  is  furnished  with  knives 
rather  than  shovels,  which  cut  off  and  thus  displace 
weeds.  Shovel  rigs  may  also  be  used  upon  it  and  sur- 
face attachments  for  smoothing  the  soil.  The  large 
wheels  with  their  broad  tires  make  it  easy  of  draft,  and 
the  high  arch  between  the  wheels  makes  it  possible  to 
cultivate  corn  without  breaking  it  when  3  to  4  feet  high. 
It  is  drawn  by  two  horses  as  a  rule,  and  cultivates  one 
row  at  a  time,  but  there  is  also  a  two-row  cultivator 
which  is  drawn  by  three  horses. 

The  spike  tooth  cultivator  (see  p.  200)  has  steel 
teeth  slightly  curving  forward.  It  has  a  gauge  wheel 
for  regulating  the  depth.  It  is  drawn  by  one  horse  and 
is  intended  to  stir  the  soil  deeply  should  this  be  desired. 
It  is  not  so  valuable  as  the  surface  cultivator  for  destroy- 
ing weeds.  Various  other  cultivators  are  in  use,  some 
with  discs,  some  with  shovels,  some  with  knives,  and 
some  with  a  combination  of  these,  but  the  surface  cul- 
tivator and  the  spike  tooth  cultivator,  judiciously  used, 
will  usually  suffice  for  the  cultivation  of  corn  and  vari- 
ous other  crops.  But  where  corn  is  listed,  other  culti- 
vators, more  commonly  of  the  disc  pattern,  are  called  for. 

The  Planet  Jr.  is  a  very  useful  cultivator.  It  may 
be  worked  by  hand  or  by  the  aid  of  a  horse.  It  is 
furnished  with  knives  and  shovels  and  is  intended  for 
use  in  gardens  and  on  small  areas  generally. 

The  spring  tooth  cultivator  is  used  chiefly  for  loosen- 
ing up  land  that  has  been  plowed  and  has  again  become 
impacted.  It  has  special  adaptation  for  use  in  ground 
where  obstructions  to  cultivation  are  present,  as  in  the 
form  of  roots  or  stones,  and  for  land  that  is  too  moist 
to  work  well  with  the  ordinary  disc.  The  clod  crusher 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS 


153 


has  adaptation  for  land  that  is  still  cloddy  after  grain 
has  been  sown  on  it,  and  also  for  summer-fallows  when 
weeds  are  just  beginning  to  sprout  numerously  on  them. 


The  Climax  cultivator  is  useful  in  cutting  off  perennial 
weeds  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  as,  for  instance, 
the  sow  thistle  and  the  Canada  thistle,  especially  on  land 


154  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

that  is  being  summer-fallowed.  The  alfalfa  cultivator 
has  special  adaptation  for  loosening  alfalfa  soils  to  a 
greater  depth  than  would  be  easily  practicable  with  the 
ordinary  disc.  Owing  to  the  peculiar  shape  of  the  teeth 
they  do  but  little  harm  to  the  plants.  The  alfalfa  reno- 
vator stirs  the  soil  more  fully  than  the  alfalfa  cultivator, 
but  not  to  so  great  a  depth.  It  also  will  break  up  the 
hard  crust  that  forms  beneath  the  surface  in  some  soils. 
The  surface  cultivator  has  special  adaptation  for  freeing 
the  land  from  weeds  in  cultivated  crops  where  it  is  not 
desirable  or  necessary  to  cultivate  deeply.  The  spike 
tooth  cultivator  is  specially  helpful  in  breaking  up  the 
undercrust  that  in  so  many  instances  forms  in  cultivated 
land  under  the  dust  mulch. 

The  spring  tooth  cultivator  should  not  be  used  on 
land  where  the  disc  will  accomplish  the  work  more  ef- 
fectively. The  Climax  cultivator  should  not  be  used  or- 
dinarily on  summer-fallow  land  when  it  can  be  kept  clean 
with  the  disc  and  harrow.  The  alfalfa  cultivator  should 
not  be  used  on  alfalfa  fields  at  any  time  when  the  soil 
is  unduly  moist  or  when  it  will  tend  too  much  to  stimu- 
late growth  on  the  approach  of  winter.  The  surface 
cultivator  should  not  be  used  on  corn  or  other  crops  to 
destroy  weeds  that  have  become  so  deeply  rooted  as  to 
call  for  some  kind  of  shovel  teeth  to  dislodge  them  unless 
indeed  such  teeth  can  be  used  on  the  same,  nor  should 
it  be  used  when  its  further  use  would  break  down  the 
corn  plants  to  any  considerable  extent.  The  spike  tooth 
cultivator  should  not  be  depended  on  alone  to  clean 
weedy  land.  This  it  cannot  do  without  involving  an 
undue  amount  of  labor. 

Harrows  and  their  uses. — While  there  are  several 
styles  of  harrows  in  ordinary  use,  it  would  seem  correct 
to  say  that  only  three  of  these  are  specially  suited  to  the 
needs  of  dry  areas.  These  are:  (1)  the  adjustable  spike 
tooth  steel  lever  harrow,  (2)  the  weeder,  and  (3)  the 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  155 

sixty-penny  spike  tooth  wooden  harrow.  The  first  of 
these  is  made  of  steel  and  in  sections  (see  p.  157). 
The  sections  are  coupled  insomuch  that  when  it  is  so 
desired  they  may  be  made  to  cover  24=  feet  at  one  stroke 
of  the  harrow.  When  thus  used  they  are  drawn  by  4  to 
6  horses.  More  commonly,  however,  they  consist  of  but 
two  sections  and  are  drawn  by  two  horses.  The  teeth 
are  adjustable,  insomuch  that  the  harrow  may  be  used 
with  the  teeth  pointed  forward  or  backward  at  any  angle 
that  may  be  desired  or  they  may  be  used  erectly.  The 


THE  JANESVILLE  HALLOCK  12-FOOT  RIDING    WEEDER. 
Courtesy  Janesville  Machine  Co.,  Janesville,  Wis. 

angle  at  which  the  teeth  are  adjusted  influences  the  depth 
to  which  the  teeth  drag  and  also  the  extent  to  which 
they  dislodge  volunteer  grain  or  weeds. 

The  weeder  consists  of  a  series  of  long,  rigid  steel 
teeth  attached  to  a  bar  which  is  stationary.  The  imple- 
ment is  conveyed  on  wheels  and  the  depth  to  which  the 
teeth  penetrate  the  soil  is  adjustable.  The  use  of  this 
implement  is  confined  mainly  to  the  destruction  of  new- 
ly sprouted  weeds  in  grain  crops  or  in  cultivated  crops 
in  the  early  stages  of  their  growth. 


156  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  sixty-penny  spike  tooth  wooden  harrow  has  a 
frame  made  of  2  by  4  inch  scantling  and  the  frame  is  of 
some  light  wood,  as  pine.  The  teeth  are  the  sixty-penny 
spikes  driven  through  the  scantlings  in  openings  pre- 
pared by  brace  and  bit,  to  the  desired  distance.  This 
harrow  is  of  home  construction  and  may  be  of  any  width 
desired.  It  is  intended  for  use  on  very  soft,  fine  surfaces 
where  the  steel  harrow  would  sink  too  deeply  in  the  soil. 
(See  p.  168.) 

While  the  objects  sought  from  the  use  of  the  har- 
row are  various,  the  following  are  prominent  among 
these:  (1)  The  pulverization  of  the  soil  so  that  germi- 
nating plants  will  be  furnished  with  conditions  that  favor 
rapid  growth.  (2)  To  cover  the  seed  that  may  have  been 
broadcasted,  as  when  sown  by  hand.  (3)  To  destroy 
weeds  in  the  early  stages  of  their  growth.  When  firmly 
rooted  they  cannot  be  dislodged  by  the  harrow.  (4)  To 
aid  in  conserving  soil  moisture.  In  dry  areas  no  imple- 
ment will  equal  the  harrow  in  efficiency  for  such  a  use. 

The  steel  harrow  is  used:  (1)  To  pulverize  the  seed 
bed  on  land  that  has  been  plowed.  It  is  greatly  impor- 
tant that  this  shall  be  done  as  soon  as  possible  after  the 
land  has  been  plowed  or  disced,  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  moisture,  and  also  after  rain,  should  the  same  be  prac- 
ticable. (2)  On  summer-fallow  land  to  firm  and  main- 
tain a  dust  mulch  throughout  the  season,  and  especially 
after  any  considerable  rain,  and  to  destroy  weeds  as 
they  begin  to  grow.  The  dust  mulch  is  to  hinder  as 
far  as  may  be  the  escape  of  moisture.  (3)  To  cover  the 
seeds  of  grain  that  may  have  been  broadcasted,  as  when 
hand  sown,  and  to  furnish  additional  covering  for  drill- 
sown  grain  on  land  not  in  good  condition  of  preparation. 
(4)  On  several  cultivated  crops,  especially  corn  and  po- 
tatoes, before  they  appear  above  ground,  and  subse- 
quent to  their  appearance  until  they  are  several  inches 
high.  The  number  of  these  harrowings  is  dependent  on 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  157 

the  conditions  present,  but  usually  it  is  not  less  than 
four.  (5)  On  nearly  all  kinds  of  small  grain,  after  the 
blades  begin  to  show  and  until  the  plants  are  ready  to 
shoot,  to  keep  the  soil  from  encrusting,  to  destroy  weeds 
and  to  prevent  moisture  from  escaping  from  below.  The 
number  of  the  harrowings  given  to  a  grain  crop  may 
run  from  1  to  5.  In  some  instances  harrowing  may  not 
be  called  for,  owing  to  peculiarities  of  season  and  soil. 

The  steel  harrow  is  sometimes  used,  but  not  in  all 
instances:      (1)   On  fall-plowed   land  to  aid  in   its  pul- 


ONE  SECTION  OF  THE  AJAX  STEEL  LEVER  HARROW. 
Courtesy  Deere  &  Webber  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

verization.  (2)  On  several  of  the  small  grains  between 
the  season  of  sowing  and  the  appearance  of  the  plants, 
the  object  being  to  destroy  weeds  and  to  prevent  en- 
crustations. (3)  On  winter  grain  autumn  and  spring, 
to  hold  moisture  and  to  loosen  and  aerate  the  land. 

The  harrow  should  not  be  used:  (1)  On  cloddy 
land  until  the  clods  are  first  crushed  with  roller  or 
planker,  as  on  such  land  it  will  not  do  effective  work. 
(2)  On  breaking  or  overturned  sod  until  the  sods  have 
been  pressed  down  with  disc,  roller  or  planker,  lest 
many  of  the  sods  should  be  left  with  the  grass  on  the 


158  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

top  side.  (3)  On  grain  from,  say,  1  to  3  inches  high,  save 
when  a  crust  forms,  lest  much  of  the  grain  should  be 
buried.  (4)  On  grain  crops  when  wet  with  dew  or  rain, 
as  then  the  grain  will  be  more  or  less  injured  with  the 
soil  that  will  adhere  to  the  blades,  and  the  weeds  present 
will  not  be  destroyed.  The  harrow  cannot  do  effective 
work  in  killing  weeds  when  the  soil  or  the  grain  is 
unduly  wet. 

The  weeder  is  used  on  soils  that  are  so  loose  as  to 
interfere  with  the  use  of  the  steel  harrow,  which  sinks 
so  deeply  into  them  as  to  drag  the  cross-bars  more  or 
less  along  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  teeth  of  the 
weeder  may  be  so  adjusted  as  to  regulate  the  depth  to 
which  they  will  cut.  This  implement  is  intended  for 
use  mainly,  if  not,  indeed,  wholly,  on  crops  that  are  grow- 
ing. It  may  be  used  on  plants  too  high  for  being  har- 
rowed with  ordinary  spike  tooth  harrows.  On  large  areas 
four-horse  gang  weeders  are  the  most  satisfactory. 

The  sixty-penny  spike  tooth  wooden  harrow  is  in- 
tended to  stir  the  surface  of  the  soil  in  grain  crops  where 
it  is  very  loose.  Its  value  lies  in  a  considerable  degree  in 
the  small  cost  of  construction,  as  it  may  be  made  by  the 
farmer  himself.  The  end  which  it  serves  may  be  served 
as  well,  if  not,  indeed,  better,  by  the  weeder.  Neither  the 
weeder  nor  the  sixty-penny  spike  tooth  wooden  harrow 
has  any  important  mission  where  the  soils  are  stiff  or 
cloddy,  or  where  they  are  much  inclined  to  encrust. 

Rollers  and  their  uses. — Rollers  are  of  various  types. 
These  embrace:  (1)  The  old-fashioned  log  roller  made 
from  the  trunk  of  a  tree  and  in  some  instances  containing 
two  and  even  three  sections.  (2)  The  steel  land  roller 
(see  p.  160),  usually  made  in  three  sections  and 
with  closed  head,  which  prevents  earth  from  accumulating 
inside  of  the  drum.  These  are  from  8  to  10  feet  long. 
(3)  The  corrugated  steel  roller,  also  sometimes,  made  in 
sections.  This  roller  has  somewhat  wedge  shaped  pro- 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  159 

tuberances  on  the  rim  of  the  drum,  which  aid  in  crushing 
lumps  and  in  leaving  the  soil  in  a  condition  that  will 
cause  it  to  lift  and  encrust  less  readily  with  the  wind. 
While  each  of  these  may  have  a  place  on  the  dry  land 
farm,  the  place  for  the  corrugated  roller  is  more  im- 
portant than  for  rollers  of  the  other  types. 

The  mission  of  the  roller  in  dry  areas  is  virtually 
twofold — first,  to  aid  in  smoothing  plowed  land  so  that  it 
may  subsequently  be  pulverized  more  readily,  and,  sec- 
ond, to  aid  in  crushing  clods  when  these  are  present.  Its 
use  is  much  more  restricted  than  in  humid  areas,  and 
chiefly  for  the  reason  that  it  tends  to  draw  moisture  to 
the  surface,  much  of  which  will  escape  into  the  air  unless 
the  disc  or  the  harrow  follows  the  roller.  It  will  not  effect 
the  end  served  by  the  subsurface  packer,  as  it  firms  the 
soil  above,  and  to  a  less  extent  below,  whereas,  the  sub- 
surface packer  firms  it  below  and  leaves  it  loose  above. 

Rollers  should  be  used  in  dry  areas:  (1)  To  flatten 
down  sod  land  newly  plowed  so  that  the  disc  or  harrow 
or  both  may  do  more  effective  work  when  securing  the 
requisite  pulverization  that  should  follow.  The  com- 
pression of  the  sod  also  hastens  decay.  In  some  in- 
stances the  disc,  in  the  absence  of  the  roller,  will  do 
this  work  sufficiently  well.  (2)  To  crush  clods  when 
preparing  cloddy  land  for  the  harrow.  When  clods  and 
pulverized  earth  are  both  present,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  follow  the  roller  with  a  disc  or  spring  tooth  harrow 
to  bring  up  clods  from  the  subsurface  soil  and  to  roll  a 
second  time.  When  a  good  subsurface  packer  is  at 
hand,  it  may  suffice  to  crush  the  clods  below  without 
bringing  them  up,  providing  it  may  be  safely  and  ad- 
vantageously used  on  such  soil.  (3)  To  press  the  soil 
around  newly  sown  grain  when  the  grain  has  not  been 
put  into  the  same  with  a  press  drill.  But  when  thus 
used  the  harrow  should  follow  to  prevent  the  too  rapid 
escape  of  moisture  that  would  otherwise  occur.  (4)  To 


160  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

break  the  crust  that  forms  on  grain  as  the  result  of  rain 
at  that  stage  of  growth  when  the  use  of  the  harrow  may 
bury  the  grain.  In  some  instances  the  roller  will  do 
this  work  quite  as  effectively  as  the  harrow. 

The  roller  should  not  be  used  in  dry  areas:  (1)  on 
any  land  or  any  crop,  unless  followed  by  the  harrow,  lest 
the  land  should  encrust  if  rain  follows ;  (2)  on  light  sandy 
land  that  will  lift  readily  with  the  wind,  as  the  wind  lifts 
the  soil  much  more  readily  from  a  smooth  than  from  a 
rough  surface;  (3)  on  land  that  packs  readily,  unless  in 


THE   DANDY  DUNHAM  STEEL  LAND  ROLLER. 
Courtesy  Deere  &  Webber  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

exceptional  instances ;  (4)  for  the  purpose  of  covering 
grass  seeds  that  have  been  sown  broadcast,  as  is  some- 
times done  in  humid  areas;  (5)  on  either  fall  or  spring- 
sown  grain  as  the  final  operation  of  tillage ;  (6)  on 
autumn-sown  grain  in  the  spring,  save  where  the  soil 
is  liable  to  heave. 

Flankers  and  their  use. — A  planker  is  an  implement, 
more  commonly  of  home  construction,  that  is  used  in 
smoothing  and  levelling  and  in  some  instances  also  for 
compressing  the  soil.  It  is  made  of  planks  and  is 
of  various  patterns.  There  is  perhaps  no  type  of 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  161 

planker  better  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  dry  farm  than 
that  which'  consists  of  three  or  four  %l/2  or  3  inch 
planks,  12  inches  broad  and  say  8  to  12  feet  long.  It 
should  be  made  of  some  strong  wood,  as  fir,  but  soft 
wood,  as  pine,  will  answer,  although  it  will  wear  more 
quickly  as  a  result  of  the  friction  when  it  is  drawn  over 
the  land.  The  construction  is  in  outline  as  follows :  One 
plank  is  laid  on  the  ground  or  on  cross-pieces  for  greater 
convenience  in  making  it.  A  second  plank  is  so  placed 
that  it  will  lap  over  the  first  one  about  4  inches.  The 
third  and  fourth,  if  a  fourth  is  used,  are  similarly  lapped. 
They  are  spiked  together,  or,  what  is  better,  are  held 
together  by  pieces  of  scantling  which  run  across  the 
planks,  the  latter  being  somewhat  notched  on  the  high 
edges  to  receive  them.  Bolts  are  inserted  from  below 
which  run  through  the  cross-pieces.  On  top  of  these 
and  lengthwise  of  the  planks  a  sufficiently  strong  plank 
may  be  nailed  on  which  the  driver  may  stand  should 
he  so  desire.  It  is  drawn  by  chains  attached  to  or  toward 
the  end  front  corners  and  meeting  in  the  middle.  If  the 
shoulders  of  the  planks  underneath,  that  is,  the  rear 
edges,  are  faced  with  sheet  iron,  they  will  wear  much 
longer  than  in  the  absence  of  such  facing.  The  planker 
when  in  use  may  or  may  not  be  weighted  with  stones. 
(See  p.  162.) 

This  simple  device  is  highly  useful  on  the  dry  farm. 
It  is  used:  (1)  for  compressing  and  smoothing  newly 
plowed  sod  land ;  (2)  for  pulverizing  clods  that  lie 
numerously  over  the  'surface ;  (3)  for  leveling  land  that 
*is  uneven ;  (4)  for  smoothing  land  that  is  to  be  drilled 
for  certain  uses,  and  (5)  for  compressing  land  under  cer- 
tain conditions  that  has  been  sown  or  planted. 

When  used  to  compress  sod  land,  the  planker  should 
be  weighted.  It  is  very  effective  for  such  a  use.  It 
should  follow  the  line  of  the  plow  furrow  when  used  on 
such  land.  It  puts  it  in  excellent  shape  for  following 


162  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

effectively  with  disc  or  harrow,  or  with  the  seed  drill, 
when  flax  is  to  be  sown.  It  turns  clods  into  dust  much 
more  effectively  than  the  roller.  The  planker  will  very 
effectively  crush  clods  in  such  land  by  following  it  with 
the  spring  tooth  harrow  to  bring  up  clods  from  below, 
and  again  using  the  planker.  When  levelling  land  that 
is  uneven,  the  planker  should  be  drawn  with  the  shoul- 
ders underneath  projecting  forward  so  that  loose  earth 
will  be  drawn  in  front  of  these  to  fall  into  the  low  places. 
Should  it  be  necessary  to  plank  the  ground  a  second 
time  when  levelling  it,  the  disc  should  precede  the  sec- 
ond planking  given.  In  all  other  instances,  the  shoul- 


HOME  MADE  PLANKER. 

ders  should  point  backward.  When  smoothing  land  that 
is  to  be  drilled  it  leaves  it  in  a  condition  that  makes  drill 
or  row  marks  easily  traceable.  When  used  on  a  flax 
crop  newly  sown  on  sod  or  even  on  other  land,  quick 
germination  is  promoted  and  the  land  is  left  in  a  nice, 
smooth  condition  for  reaping. 

The  planker  should  npt  be  used:  (1)  On  land  that 
is  sufficiently  friable  and  otherwise  in  good  condition. 
To  use  it  under  such  conditions  would  be  a  waste  of 
time  and  energy.  (2)  To  serve  the  ends  sought  from 
using  the  subsurface  packer,  as  it  firms  the  soil  above 
but  not  below.  (3)  On  soils  that  are  liable  to  blow,  un- 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  163 

less  followed  by  the  harrow  or  the  grain  drill.  (4)  On 
land  that  is  much  strewn  with  stones,  but  where  only 
a  few  are  present  it  may  serve  as  a  means  of  conveying 
them  to  the  borders  of  the  field. 

Seed  drills  and  their  uses. — Seed  drills  are  of  sev- 
eral kinds.  They  include  the  single  disc  drill,  the  double 
disc  drill,  the  double  disc  press  drill,  the  hoe  drill,  the 
shoe  drill  and  several  makes  of  broadcast  seeders.  For 
ordinary  sowing  in  dry  areas,  the  hoe  drill  and  the  shoe 
drill  are  but  little  used.  It  is  very  largely  confined  to 
the  three  types  of  disc  drill  first  named.  There  is  also  a 
place  of  no  little  importance  for  the  small  disc  drill, 
which  more  commonly  has  but  five  discs.  There  is  al- 
most no  place  for  broadcast  seeders  on  the  dry  farm,  as 
they  do  not  bury  the  seed  to  a  uniform  and  in  many  in- 
stances to  a  sufficient  depth.  Each  of  the  four  kinds  of 
disc  drills  named  will  fill  a  place  better  than  can  be 
filled  by  any  of  the  others. 

The  single  disc  drill  (see  p.  164)  opens  a  furrow 
in  the  soil  for  the  seed  which  drops  into  it,  and  it 
is  covered  by  the  earth  falling  back  upon  it  behind  the 
disc.  The  double  disc  drill  (see  p.  165)  makes  an 
opening  into  the  soil  between  each  two  discs.  The  seed 
falls  into  this  opening,  where  it  is  deposited  at  a  uniform 
depth.  The  disc  press  drill  (see  p.  177)  has  a  wheel 
following  each  drill  mark,  which  firms  the  earth  around 
and  over  the  seed.  The  small  disc  drill  is  for  use 
where  only  one  horse  can  work,  as  between  corn  rows. 

The  single  disc  drill  has  adaptation  for  sowing  grain 
on  land  that  may  be  too  rough  or  too  moist  to  use  the 
double  disc  drill  on  it  to  advantage.  On  rough  and  espe- 
cially on  stony  ground,  it  will  open  a  seed  furrow  more 
readily,  and  it  will  clog  less  readily  in  overmoist  ground. 
The  double  disc  drill  has  highest  adaptation  for  clean 
land.  As  it  drops  the  seed  at  the  bottom  of  the  furrow, 
it  is  first  covered  by  moist  earth,  which,  under  dry  condi- 


164 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


tions,  is  especially  advantageous.  The  press  drill  still 
further  aids  germination,  especially  in  loose  and  spongy 
soil,  by  so  firming  the  earth  that  the  seed  is  left  under 
most  favorable  conditions  for  quick  and  sure  germina- 
tion. The  small  one-horse  disc  drill  may  be  so  used  that 
drilling  can  be  adjusted  to  spaces  of  different  widths 
between  the  corn  rows. 


THE  SINGLE  DISC    DRILL. 
Courtesy  American  Seeding  Machine  Co.,  Springfield,  Ohio. 

The  aim  should  be  to  avoid  using  the  single  disc 
drill  where  the  double  disc  will  answer  the  purpose  bet- 
ter. Should  it  be  necessary  to  use  it  on  soil  somewhat 
lacking  in  moisture,  the  roller  should  follow  the  drill 
and  the  harrow  the  roller.  The  soil  will  then  be  firmed 
around  the  seed  and  it  will  not  blow.  The  aim  should 
also  be  to  avoid  using  the  double  disc  drill  on  land  over- 
firm,  rough  or  stony,  or  when  the  ground  is  so  moist  as 
to  preclude  doing  good  work,  nor  should  the  press  drill 
be  used  on  soil  that  bakes  readily,  save  under  conditions 
that  are  exceptional. 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS 


165 


Because  of  the  importance  of  burying  the  seeds  of 
grasses,  clovers  and  alfalfa  in  the  soil,  those  who  invest 
in  drills  in  the  future  should  aim  to  have  a  grass  seed 
attachment  that  will  run  the  seed  into  the  grain  tubes 
so  that  it  may  be  provided  with  a  covering  whether  sown 
alone  or  along  with  the  grain  crop. 

Maintaining  the  dust  mulch  in  dry  areas. — By  the 
dust  mulch  is  meant  a  layer  of  earth  more  or  less  fine 
and  dry,  covering  the  surface  of  the  soil  to  the  depth  of 


THE  DOUBLE  DISC  DRILL. 
(Courtesy  American  Seeding  Machine  Co.,  Springfield,  Ohio. 

2  to  3  inches.  It  is  usually  composed  of  fine  soil,  but 
the  ideal  dust  mulch  is  composed  of  soil  that  includes 
soil  particles  as  fine  as  dust,  intermingled  with  soil  gran- 
ules. Soil  granules  means  soil  in  which  a  number  of 
soil  particles  adhere  so  as  to  form  small  lumps  of  soil. 
When  the  soil  is  destitute  of  these  soil  granules  it  is 
much  liable  to  lift  more  or  less  with  the  wind  and  to  run 
together  and  become  impacted  by  rainfall  so  that  it  en- 
crusts. When  composed  wholly  of  soil  granules,  it  does 


166  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

not  sufficiently  prevent  the  escape  of  soil  moisture,  hence 
the  combination  of  these  forms  the  ideal  dust  mulch.  Re- 
peated harrowings  in  dry  weather  will  probably  result  in 
too  much  fining  of  the  particles,  whereas  harrowing  at  the 
opportune  time  after  rains  will  result  in  that  granular 
condition  of  the  soil  which,  in  conjunction  with  the  fine 
soil  particles,  makes  the  ideal  dust  mulch.  The  name 
"dust  mulch"  is  something  of  a  misnomer.  The  designa- 
tion "soil  mulch"  is  more  appropriate. 

The  mission  of  the  dust  or  soil  mulch  is  to  prevent 
the  escape  of  moisture  from  the  soil  below  the  mulch 
and  also  from  the  subsoil.  When  water  climbs  up  from 
below,  on  the  principle  of  capillarity,  it  cannot  pass 
through  a  layer  of  dry  earth.  In  the  absence  of  such  a 
layer  on  the  surface  it  climbs  up  and  goes  out  into  the 
atmosphere  insomuch  that  it  is  lost  to  the  soil.  When 
rain  falls  so  as  to  saturate  the  dust  mulch  it  puts  the 
surface  in  that  condition  which  facilitates  the  escape  of 
moisture,  on  the  principle  that  capillary  water  can  only 
climb  through  a  moist  soil.  When  the  dust  mulch  has 
become  thus  saturated,  on  drying  the  soil  contracts,  with 
the  result  that  it  becomes  filled  with  numerous  fissures. 
Through  these  the  moisture  rapidly  escapes  into  the  air. 
To  check  such  loss  of  moisture  it  is  necessary  to  harrow 
the  land  as  soon  as  dry  enough  to  remove  the  encrusta- 
tion, and  to  fill  up  the  cracks.  When  the  harrowing  is 
done  at  the  right  stage  of  dryness,  it  tends  to  insure  that 
granulated  condition  of  the  soil  which  is  so  favorable  to 
the  maintenance  of  a  dust  mulch.  Should  such  harrow- 
ing be  neglected  or  even  too  long  deferred,  the  benefit 
that  would  otherwise  result  from  rain  may  be  lost,  as 
when  the  .top  soil  is  moistened  it  facilitates  the  climbing 
of  the  moisture  to  the  surface. 

The  dust  or  soil  mulch  has  an  exceedingly  important 
place  in  all  areas  where  the  supply  of  moisture  is  less 
than  could  be  desired.  The  less  the  degree  of  the  pre- 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  167 

cipitation,  the  greater  is  the  necessity  for  the  dust  mulch. 
It  has  also  an  important  place  in  areas  with  a  sufficiency 
of  rainfall  for  the  season,  were  it  properly  distributed, 
but  which  are  more  or  less  subject  to  dry  periods  during 
the  season  of  growth.  Moreover  it  will  prove  very  help- 
ful in  irrigated  areas  after  each  application  of  water  to 
crops  that  are  of  that  kind,  and  in  that  stage  of  growth, 
that  will  admit  of  some  kind  of  surface  cultivation  while 
they  are  growing. 

It  is  always  in  place:  (1)  On  summer-fallowed  land 
in  dry  areas  and  during  the  entire  season.  (2)  In  these 
areas  it  is  also  more  commonly  in  place  on  small-grain 
crops  during  the  early  stages  of  growth,  but  in  seasons  of 
unusual  moisture  during  the  growing  period  it  may  not 
be  necessary.  (3)  On  small-grain  crops  in  humid  areas 
in  seasons  of  more  than  usual  drought  during  the  early 
stages  of  growth  in  the  grain.  (4)  On  alfalfa  lands  in 
dry  areas,  especially  in  the  early  part  of  the  season. 
(5)  On  all  crops  properly  known  as  cultivated  crops,  and 
during  almost  the  entire  period  of  growth.  Of  course,  the 
dust  mulch  on  small  cereals  and  alfalfa  land  is  very  much 
less  complete  than  on  land  that  is  fallow  or  that  is  grow- 
ing a  cultivated  crop,  but  on  the  former  it  i§  nevertheless 
a  dust  mulch  in  a  modified  form. 

On  the  summer-fallow  the  dust  mulch  is  maintained 
on  many  soils  almost  entirely  by  the  aid  of  the  harrow. 
But  on  some  soils  the  aid  of  the  disc  is  necessary  in  some 
instances  to  aid  in  killing  weeds,  to  break  up  impaction 
resulting  from- a  heavy  rain  or  to  break  up  a  crust  formed 
beneath  the  soil  mulch  made  by  the  harrow.  Such  a 
crust  will  form  in  some  soils  in  the  absence  of  rain. 
When  it  forms,  it  should  invariably  be  broken  up  by  some 
deeper  form  of  cultivation,  as  when  present  it  excludes 
aeration  and  therefore  stays  proportionately  the  active 
working  of  bacteria  in  the  soil. 


168 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


On  cultivated  crops  the  dust  mulch  is  maintained, 
first,  by  the  aid  of  the  harrow,  and,  second,  by  that  of 
some  form  of  cultivator.  On  these,  as  on  the  summer-fal- 
low, the  aim  should  be  to  .prevent  encrustation  above  and 
below.  This  will  involve  stirring  the  soil  after  every  con- 
siderable rain.  The  results  would  be  better  could  it  be 
stirred  after  every  rain,  but  in  practise  this  may  not  be 
practicable.  In  dry  weather,  when  no  cracks  are  present 
in  the  soil  or  any  encrustations  above  or  below,  there 
would  not  seem  to  be  any  advantage  from  stirring  the 
soil.  On  cereal  crops,  the  aim  should  be  to  prevent  en- 
crustation until  the  leaves  shade  the  soil. 


THE  SIXTY-PENNY  SPIKE  TOOTH  WOODEN  HOME  MADE  HARROW. 

The  summer-fallow  in  dry  areas. — The  summer-fal- 
low in  dry  areas  means  land  that  has  been  plowed  the 
previous  autumn,  or  some  time  during  the  spring  or 
early  summer,  and  is  then  kept  more  or  less  free  from 
weed  growth  subsequently  by  some  form  jof  cultivation, 
until  the  season  has  arrived  for  sowing  on  it  an  autumn 
or  a  spring  crop.  Because  of  the  amount  of  surface 
cultivation  given  to  the  soil  when  thus  fallow,  it  is  fre- 
quently spoken  of  as  summer-tilled  land.  The  term  fal- 
low implies  that  the  soil  is  idle  during  the  period  of 
tillage,  but  to  this  idea  there  is  the  exception  that  in 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  169 

some  instances  a  crop  that  grows  quickly  is  sometimes 
produced  for  renovation  purposes. 

In  humid  areas,  land  is  summer-fallowed  chiefly  for 
the  purpose  of  reducing,  weed  growth  in  the  same.  In 
diy  areas  it  is  summer-fallowed  chiefly  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  the  moisture  in  the  soil  and  subsoil  for  the 
benefit  of  the  crop  that  follows,  but  it  is  also  handled 
thus  to  reduce  weed  growth.  In  such  areas  the  former 
reason  is  usually  the  dominant  one,  but  to  this  there  may 
be  some  exceptions,  as  when  the  land  is  to  be  freed  from 
the  presence  of  volunteer  grain.  It  will  be  at  once  ap- 
parent, therefore,  that  the  place  assigned  to  the  summer- 
fallow  will  always  be  more  important  relatively  in  dry 
than  in  humid  areas.  In  some  humid  areas  where  the 
cultivation  is  intense,  there  may  be  no  place  for  the 
summer-fallow,  as  crops  may  be  grown  successfully  from 
year  to  year  and  without  any  intermission  on  the  same 
land,  but  that  is  not  true  of  dry  areas. 

The  frequency  with  which  the  summer-fallow  should 
be  introduced  into  the  rotation  will  depend  upon  various 
conditions,  as  soil,  subsoil,  precipitation  and  evapora- 
tion. More  commonly,  however,  where  the  rainfall  is 
15  inches  and  less,  it  will  be  found  profitable  to  intro- 
duce the  summer-fallow  every  second  or  third  year  (see 
p.  397).  But  where  the  soil  lifts  readily  with  the  wind, 
it  should  not  be  introduced,  except  when  they  possess 
enough  vegetable  matter  to  bind  them. 

Sod  land  may  be  plowed  for  summer-fallow  in  the 
autumn  when  it  is  amply  supplied  with  moisture  at  that 
season,  which  seldom  happens,  however,  save  in  areas 
where  much  of  the  precipitation  falls  in  the  autumn 
and  winter.  More  commonly  it  is  in  best  condition  in 
the  late  spring,  and  it  should  then  be  plowed  to  a  depth 
of  not  less  than  6  inches.  It  should  be  packed  at  once 
with  some  form  of  packer  and  a  dust  mulch  formed  on  it 
and  maintained  to  the  end  of  the  season  (see  p.  165). 


170  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  aim  should  be  to  avoid  cropping  such  land  the  first 
season,  in  order  that  moisture  may  be  stored  in  the  sub- 
soil. 

The  best  time  to  plow  land  for  summer-fallow  in 
dry  areas,  all  things  considered,  is  the  autumn,  provid- 
ing the  soil  is  possessed  of  enough  moisture  to  admit  of 
plowing  it  deeply.  If  the  soil  is  very  dry  it  will  be 
better  to  simply  disc  it  so  that  water  that  falls  may 
penetrate  it  the  more  readily,  leaving  the  deep  plowing 
that  should  be  given  to  it  until  the  spring.  When  plowed 
in  the  autumn,  it  should  be  disced  and  harrowed  in  the 
early  spring.  It  should  then  be  harrowed  with  suf- 
ficient frequency  to  maintain  a  dust  mulch  throughout 
the  season. 

When  the  ground  cannot  be  plowed  or  disced  in 
the  autumn,  it  may  be  disced  in  the  early  spring  and 
then  plowed  later,  that  is,  at  a  time  when  the  soil  has 
much  moisture  in  it.  This,  in  all  or  nearly  all  the  Great 
Plains  country,  is  usually  May  or  June.  It  should  usu- 
ally be  at  once  packed  witTi  disc  or  packer,  and  a  dust 
mulch  formed  and  maintained  on  it  with  the  harrow.  As 
a  rule  summer-fallow  land  should  not  be  given  more 
than  one  plowing  in  dry  areas,  lest  too  much  moisture 
should  be  lost,  but  to  this  there  may  be  some  exceptions, 
as  when  the  soil  is  much  liable  to  pack.  The  advice 
sometimes  given  to  plow  summer-fallow  land  a  second 
time  and  somewhat  late  in  the  season  would  seem  to 
be  misleading. 

Cultivating  crops  in  dry  areas. — In  dry  areas  more 
of  the  crops  relatively  are  cultivated  than  in  humid 
areas,  and  the  cultivation  given  to  them  is  in  many  in- 
stances more  prolonged.  This  arises  from  the  greater 
necessity  which  exists  for  keeping  the  land  in  that 
mechanical  condition  which  will  best  guard  it  against 
vicissitude  from  the  effects  of  drought.  Nearly  all  the 
crops  grown  may  be  cultivated  to  some  extent  and  in 


CULTIVATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  171 

some  way  during  the  process  of  growth.  For  a  more 
complete  enumeration  of  these,  see  p  269.  Such  cultiva- 
tion embraces  harrowing,  discing,  renovating  and  culti- 
vating by  various  implements  and  in  various  ways. 
Grain  crops,  grass  crops,  forage  crops  and  root  crops  all 
come  in  for  more  or  less  of  cultivation.  More  com- 
monly the  only  cultivation  of  grain  crops  is  given  by 
the  harrow,  that  given  to  grass  crops,  as  alfalfa,  comes 
from  the  disc  and  harrow,  that  given  to  forage  crops 
from  the  harrow  and  certain  cultivators,  and  the  same 
is  true  of  root  crops  and  tubers.  The  exact  character 
of  the  cultivation  suitable  to  each  is  given  when  dis- 
cussing in  succeeding  chapters  how  these  should  be 
grown.  The  object  at  this  time  is  rather  to  discuss  the 
general  character  of  the  cultivation  and  the  extent  of  the 
same. 

Grains  are  harrowed  to  keep  the  soil  open,  for  the 
easier  penetration  of  'water,  to  prevent  it  from  escaping 
when  it  enters,  and  to  aid  in  destroying  weeds.  The  har- 
rowing should  seek  to  avoid  burying  the  grain  and  tear- 
ing too  much  of  it  out.  Grasses  are  disced  usually  be- 
fore growth  begins.  The  severity  of  the  discing  or  reno- 
vating called  for  depends  upon  the  excess,  if  any,  in  the 
stand  of  the  plants,  their  abilty  to  stand  severe  discing, 
and  the  hardness  of  the  ground.  Nearly  all  grasses 
will  profit  from  an  annual  or  biennial  discing,  as  the  sur- 
face is  thus  loosened  for  the  better  admission  of  air  and 
moisture.  Forage  crops  when  too  high  to  use  the  har- 
row on  them  can  only  be  cultivated  further  by  imple- 
ments that  run  between  the  rows. 

In  humid*  areas,  shallow  cultivation  during  the  en- 
tire period  of  the  cultivation  is  recommended.  The  ad- 
vice thus  given  is  suitable,  for  under  such  conditions  the 
crops  root  relatively  shallow.  This  requires  some  modi- 
fication in  dry  areas,  as  crops  root  more  deeply  in 
such  soils.  It  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  the  c^ulti- 


172  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

vation  should  be  both  shallow  and  deep.  The  necessity 
for  this  arises,  at  least  on  many  soils,  from  the  tendency 
in  them  to  encrust  below  the  shallow  cultivation,  as  pre- 
viously intimated.  If  cultivation  reasonably  deep  is 
given  at  the  first,  while  lateral  root  growth  is  yet  limited, 
the  time  of  such  encrustations  will  be  deferred.  When 
it  does  occur  some  implement  must  be  used  to  break  it 
up,  even  at  the  risk  of  breaking  some  of  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  as  to  do  this  may  be  the  lesser  of  the  two  evils. 
The  breaking  of  this  crust  under  the  soil  mulch  is  a  mat- 
ter of  much  moment  when  growing  such  cultivated  crops. 
The  extent  of  the  cultivation  will  vary  with  the 
different  crops  and  classes  of  crops.  Grains  are  seldom 
harrowed  beyond  the  time  when  there  are  indications 
of  jointing,  and  not  very  frequently  for  so  long  a  period. 
Some  crops  grown  in  rows,  as  alfalfa  for  seed,  and  peas, 
cannot  be  cultivated  to  a  late  stage  of  growth  because 
of  the  recumbent  character  of  the  growth.  Those  of 
upright  growth,  however,  should  be  given  cultivation 
until  and  in  some  instances  beyond  the  time  for  begin- 
ning seed  formation. 


CHAPTER  IX 
SOWING  AND   PLANTING   IN    DRY   AREAS 

In  some  respects  the  methods  to  be  pursued  in  sow- 
ing grain  and  planting  seeds  of  all  kinds  in  dry  areas 
are  the  same  as  in  humid  areas.  In  other  respects  the 
contrast  is  very  marked.  The  rules  that  govern  correct 
sowing  and  planting  are  much  more  exact  and  inflexi- 
ble than  those  which  govern  the  same  in  humid  areas. 
This  less  degree  of  latitude  in  dry  areas  relates:  (1)  to 
the  time  of  planting;  (2)  to  the  mode  of  planting;  (3) 
to  the  depth  to  plant ;  (4)  to  the  amount  of  seed  to  use, 
and  (5)  to  the  soil  conditions  at  the  time  of  planting. 
In  humid  areas,  for  instance,  plants  may  be  sown  early 
or  late,  and  more  or  less  of  a  crop  may  be  looked  for, 
whereas  in  dry  areas  a  late-sown  crop  may  completely 
fail.  In  humid  areas  germination  may  be  good  from  both 
drill  and  broadcast  sowing,  in  dry  areas  the  seed  may 
fail  to  germinate  from  the  latter  when  it  will  not  so  fail 
from  the  former.  In  humid  areas  plants  will  germinate 
within  any  reasonable  distance  of  the  surface,  in  dry  areas 
they  will  only  germinate  when  down  far  enough  to 
reach  moisture.  In  humid  areas  good  results  may  fol- 
low in  each  instance  from  free  seeding  and  in  varying 
quantities,  in  dry  areas  limited  quantities  only  will 
give  results.  In  humid  areas  seed  may  be  sown  with  the 
expectation  that  rain  may  come ;  in  dry  areas  such  ex- 
pectation may  prove  fallacious.  Sowing  and  planting  in 
dry  areas  call  for  much  more  exactness  than  in  humid 
areas. 

The  advantages  from  drill  sowing. — Drill  sowing  is 
much  superior  to  broadcast  sowing  in  dry  areas.  In  fact 
it  is  so  much  superior  to  broadcast  sowing  that  it  may 
in  a  sense  be  said  that  there  is  no  place  for  the  latter. 
Drill  sowing  has  the  following  among  other  advantages : 


174  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

(1)  It  buries  the  seed  to  a  uniform  depth.  (2)  The 
depth  may  be  varied  to  suit  the  conditions.  (3)  The 
ground  may  be  compressed  above  the  seed.  (4)  There 
is  a  saving  in  the  amount  of  seed. 

The  burial  of  the  seed  to  a  uniform  depth  in  dry 
areas  is  greatly  important.  Under  humid  conditions  seed 
will  germinate  almost  equally  well  at  varying  depths, 
but  in  dry  areas  the  seeds  buried  shallow,  as  some  of  them 
are  in  broadcast  sowing,  will  not  germinate  at  all  in  the 
absence  of  rain.  Should  the  plants  appear  unevenly  they 
will  grow  unevenly.  The  early  plants  will  rob  the  late 
ones  of  moisture,  which  will  result  in  dwarfing  them,  and 
the  ripening  of  the  crop  will  be  uneven. 

But  more  important  than  the  planting  of  the  seed 
at  an  even  depth,  is  the  planting  of  the  same  at  a  depth 
that  will  insure  germination.  For  instance-,  the  best  depth 
at  which  to  plant  a  certain  kind  of  seed  is,  say,  2  inches. 
But  the  moisture  in  the  soil  may  be  half  an  inch  or  an 
inch  lower  down.  With  the  grain  drill,  the  seed  may  be 
put  down  to  where  the  moisture  is,  and  so  germination 
is  insured.  In  the  absence  of  a  drill  such  planting  would 
not  be  possible.  Its  use  renders  it  entirely  practicable 
to  plant  autumn-sown  seeds  deeply  to  fit  them  for  going 
through  the  winter  in  better  form,  and  to  plant  spring- 
sown  seeds  moderately  deep  or  less  deeply  to  suit  the 
moisture  conditions  that  may  be  present. 

The  ability  to  compress  the  soil  around  seed  more  or 
less,  which  some  drills  furnish,  is  in  many  instances  a 
great  advantage.  The  class  of  drills  known  as  press 
drills  will  accomplish  this  (see  p.  177).  The  advantage 
from  such  compression  is,  that  the  circulation  of  air 
around  the  seed  is  so  far  reduced  that  the  moisture 
needed  to  germinate  the  grain  is  better  retained.  Such 
compression,  however,  is  not  adapted  to  all  soils.  In 
some  soils  it  would  shut  out  the  air  too  completely,  as 
when  they  are  of  a  heavy  character  and  may  contain  an 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        175 

excess  of  moisture.  Such  compression,  however,  is  help- 
ful to  nearly  all  the  soils  of  the  dry  areas. 

There  is  also  a  saving  in  the  amount  of  seed  called 
for.  This  is  the  outcome  of  the  more  perfect  germina- 
tion secured  in  drill  sowing.  In  humid  areas  the  saving 
thus  effected  is  fully  12  J4  per  cent,  which  means  that 
where  8  pecks  of  seed  are  called  for  when  sown  on  the 
broadcast  plan,  7  pecks  will  answer  the  same  purpose 
when  sown  by  the  drill.  The  saving  thus  effected  in 
dry  areas  will  be  quite  as  much  relatively,  but  it  will 
be  less  absolutely,  because  of  the  less  amount  of  seed 
called  for  in  dry  areas.  The  saving  in  the  amount  of 
seed  called  for  will  be  at  least  relative,  and  this  will 
mean  that  the  saving  effected  in  the  amount  of  seed 
called  for  would  soon  pay  for  the  cost  of  a  drill  where 
large  areas  of  grain  are  to  be  sown.  In  moist  areas 
the  saving  thus  effected  in  seed  is  less  than  one  peck 
per  acre.  In  humid  areas  it  is  not  less  than  half  that 
amount.  With  so  much  of  saving  on  each  acre,  the 
entire  saving  thus  effected  would  soon  repay  the  out- 
lay incurred  in  purchasing  a  drill  where  the  area  to  be 
sown  is  large. 

The  disadvantages  of  broadcasting. — One  of  the 
great  disadvantages  resulting  from  broadcasting  the 
seed  is,  that  in  all  instances  when  thus  sown  it  may 
not  be  deposited  deeply  enough  to  enable  it  to  reach 
moist  soil.  If  the  moisture  has  left  the  surface  for  some 
distance  downward,  the  seed  may  not  germinate  at  all 
until  rains  come,  and  when  these  come  the  season  may 
be  too  far  advanced  to  result  in  the  production  of  a 
crop. 

A  second  disadvantage  is,  that  the  seeds  will  be 
covered  at  a  depth  so  uneven  that  germination  cannot 
fail  to  be  uneven,  though  all  the  conditions  for  good 
germination  should  be  favorable.  Should  they  prove  un- 
favorable, the  evil  will  be  aggravated.  When  seed  is 


176  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

thus  sown,  it  is  covered  by  the  harrow,  or  by  the  disc. 
The  harrow  will  cover  it  unevenly.  Some  of  the  seeds 
will  lie  upon  the  surface.  This  means  that  in  dry  areas 
they  will  not  sprout.  Some  of  them  may  be  covered  so 
lightly  that  they  will  not  sprout.  Other  seeds  may  ger- 
minate and  yet  root  so  near  the  surface  that  they 
cannot  well  resist  the  adverse  influences  of  dry  weather 
that  follows,  and  all  of  them  may  be  rooted  too  shallow 
to  enable  the  plants  to  properly  stand  up  and  grow  amid 
the  vicissitude  that  may  come  to  them  because  of  the 
lack  of  rain.  When  the  seed  is  covered  with  the  disc, 
some  of  it  may  not  be  covered  deeply  enough.  Much 
of  it  may  be  covered  too  deeply.  There  is  a  lack  also 
of  that  compression  which  the  disc  drill  gives  that  is  so 
favorable  in  hastening  germination.  This  lack  of  com- 
pression is  equally  present  whether  the  seed  will  be 
covered  by  the  smoothing  harrow  or  by  the  disc. 

When  grain  is  sown  with  the  drill,  it  is  deposited  so 
deeply  that  the  harrow  does  not  readily  uproot  the 
plants  when  the  grain  is  being  harrowed  subsequent  to 
the  appearance  of  the  plants  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Such  harrowing  is  absolutely  essential  to  suc- 
cessful crop  production  in  dry  areas.  When  the  crop  is 
sown  broadcast,  the  harrow  will  readily  uproot  the  plants, 
or  at  least  many  of  them,  because  of  the  shallowness  of 
the  rooting,  and  the  more  delicate  the  plants  in  the  early 
stages  of  their  growth,  the  more  will  they  suffer  from 
this  cause.  The  better  ability  of  plants  that  are  deep- 
rooted  to  withstand  severe  harrowing  is  well  illustrated 
in  grain  plants  that  have  volunteered,  as  it  were,  from 
seeds  of  the  previous  crop  shattered  out  upon  the  ground 
and  buried  deeply  with  the  plow.  In  many  cases,  even 
the  disc  will  fail  to  dislodge  these. 

The  advantages  of  drill  seeding  over  broadcast  seed- 
ing are  so  many  and  so  apparent,  that  it  would  be  correct 
to  say  that  broadcast  seeding  has  but  a  limited  place  un- 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        177 

der  dry  farming  conditions.  To  say  that  it  has  no  place, 
as  some  have  said,  is  putting  the  matter  strongly.  There 
may  be  certain  soil  conditions  at  the  time  for  sowing 
which  would  preclude  the  use  of  the  drill,  but  would  not 
at  the  same  time  forbid  sowing  on  the  broadcast  plan. 
Such  an  occasion  might  arise  from  a  soil  so  moist  near 
the  surface  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  do  good  work 
with  the  drill.  So  much  superior  is  drill  sowing  over 
broadcasting,  that  the  aim  should  be  to  sow  even  such 
small  seeds  as  alfalfa  and  grasses  with  some  form  of  drill. 


THE  DISC  PRESS  DRILL. 
Courtesy  American  Seeding  Machine  Co.,  Springfield,  Ohio. 

The  amounts  of  seeds  to  sow. — In  dry  areas  the 
amount  of  seed  that  ought  to  be  sown  is  worthy  of  the 
most  careful  study,  because  of  the  influence  which  the 
amount  of  seed  sown  exerts  upon  the  crop  yields.  It 
would  seem  correct  to  say  that  in  semi-arid  areas  the  less 
the  amount  of  the  precipitation  the  less  the  amount 
of  the  seed  that  is  called  for.  This  conclusion  is 
based  upon  the  influence  which  the  moisture  supply 
present  in  the  soil  exerts  on  plant  development.  When 
the  number  of  plants  growing  on  a  certain  area  is  in 


178  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

excess  of  the  moisture  present  to  meet  their  needs  in  best 
form,  their  complete  and  perfect  development  is  hindered. 
When  the  moisture  supply  is  not  sufficient,  the  plants 
will  not  grow  to  the  usual  size.  The  heads  will  be 
dwarfed  in  their  development  and  the  kernels  in  the 
heads  will  be  deficient  in  number  and  also  in  size. 
.Should  the  weather  be  excessively  hot  while  the  grain  is 
nearing  maturity,  a  thick  stand  of  the  plants  is  almost 
certain  to  result  in  shrunken  grain  and  diminished  yields. 

The  greater  tendency  in  plants  to  stool  under  the 
conditions  of  growth  in  dry  areas  as  compared  with  those 
in  humid  areas,  furnishes  a  second  reason  why  a  less 
amount  of  seed  should  be  sown.  Under  normal  condi- 
tion in  humid  areas,  only  a  limited  number  of  stems  will 
be  produced  by  each  plant;  in  dry  areas  the  number  will 
be  much  larger.  The  relative  thickness  of  the  plants 
in  both  instances  affects  the  stooling.  The  fewer  the 
plants  of  course  the  greater  is  the  tendency  in  them  to 
stool.  The  strong  root  system  which  is  developed  in 
plants  relatively  early  in  dry  areas  doubtless  encour- 
ages abundant  stooling.  In  humid  areas  such  stooling 
arises  in  a  considerable  degree  from  a  relatively  small 
number  of  plants  growing  on  the  ground.  Under  some 
conditions  this  would  lead  to  an  excessive  growth  of 
straw,  which  would  probably  result  in  a  diminished  yield 
of  grain.  The  tendency  would  also  be  present  in  some 
seasons  to  induce  rust.  These  hazards  are  but  little 
present  in  dry  areas.  Very  large  yields  may  frequently 
be  obtained  in  the  latter  from  a  very  light  seeding  of 
grain. 

It  would  not  be  possible  to  state  the  amounts  of 
seed  that  will  best  meet  the  conditions  in  all  instances 
in  dry  areas.  The  precipitation  is  of  varying  degrees  in 
different  localities  and  of  varying  amounts  in  the  same 
locality.  What  would  be  a  sufficiency  of  seed  in  one  lo- 
cality would  be  an  excessive  amount  in  another.  The 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        179 

amount  that  would  be  enough  under  normal  conditions 
would  be  too  much  under  a  deficiency  in  the  precipita- 
tion. The  condition  of  the  preparation  of  the  land  also 
exerts  an  influence.  The  more  perfect  the  preparation, 
the  less  is  the  amount  of  seed  that  is  called  for,  as  the 
greater  relatively  will  be  the  number  of  the  plants  that 
will  germinate  under  those  conditions,  and  the  more 
abundant  will  be  the  stooling.  It  is  only  possible,  there- 
fore, to  state  approximately  the  amount  of  the  seed  that 
should  be  used.  Some  species  of  cereals  stool  more  than 
others,  and  the  same  is  true  of  varieties  within  the  spe- 
cies. These  peculiarities  should  not  be  ignored.  Speak- 
ing in  a  general  way,  it  would  seem  safe  to  say  that  the 
usual  amounts  of  seed  sown  in  dry  areas  should  be  about 
half  the  amounts  of  the  same  sown  in  humid  areas. 

Much  care  should  be  exercised  in  determining  the 
amounts  of  seed  to  sow.  Because  very  large  yields  have 
been  obtained  from  sowing  very  small  quantities  of  seed 
under  exceptional  conditions,  the  mistake  should  not  be 
made  of  reducing  unduly  the  amount  of  the  seed  sown. 
The  practise  should  be  followed  of  sowing  amounts  a 
little  in  excess  of  what  will  best  meet  the  needs  of  the 
conditions  present,  as  all  of  the  plants  may  not  ger- 
minate, and  very  adverse  weather  conditions  may  destroy 
some  of  them.  Should  there  be  an  excess  of  plants,  it  is 
best  removed  by  the  aid  of  the  harrow,  a  result  which 
is  to  be  sought  whenever  such  excess  is  present. 

The  time  to  sow  autumn  grain. — The  aim  should  be 
to  sow  autumn  grain  early  and  for  the  following  reasons: 
(1)  That  root  development  may  have  time  to  become 
strong  so  as  to  enable  it  the  better  to  withstand  the 
vicissitudes  of  winter,  and  (2)  that  the  development  of 
the  top  may  become  such  as  to  aid  in  furnishing  protec- 
tion for  the  plants  when  passing  through  those  periods 
of  winter  when  a  covering  of  snow  may  not  be  present. 
This  will  apply  to  all  kinds  of  winter  grain,  as  rye,  wheat, 


180  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

barley,  oats  and  vetches ;  of  these  rye  will  best  meet  the 
hazard  incurred  from  late  sowing,  because  of  the  su- 
perior power  which  inheres  within  the  grain  itself  to  re- 
sist vicissitude. 

The  sowing  of  winter  grains  possessed  of  sufficient 
hardiness  to  enable  them  to  withstand  the  winter  condi- 
tions may  best  begin  in  the  northern  areas  of  the  semi- 
arid  belt  in  early  August.  As  the  latitude  grows  less 
the  time  for  sowing  is  later.  To  sow  unduly  early  there, 
are  the  following  objections:  (1)  The  plants  may  under 
unusually  moist  conditions  reach  the  jointing  stage  at 
too  early  a  period.  (2)  The  autumn  growth  may  exhaust 
the  energies  of  the  plant  to  such  an  extent  that  the  growth 
the  following  spring  is  less  vigorous  than  it  would  have 
been  had  such  exhaustion  not  occurred.  (3)  Fn  the  case 
of  wheat,  the  hazard  may  also  be  incurred  of  attack  by 
the  Hessian  fly. 

The  chief  objection  to  late  sowing  lies  in  the  haz- 
ards to  which  the  young  plants  are  exposed  and  which 
they  cannot  resist  as  stronger  plants  would.  These  haz- 
ards include:  (1)  Freezing  through  the  intensity  of  the 
cold.  (2)  Destruction  which  may  come  to  the  plants 
through  exposure  to  cold  winds  following  quick  removal 
of  a  snow  covering.  (3)  The  loss  of  the  plants  while 
the  roots  are  not  yet  far  from  the  surface  through  lack 
of  moisture.  (4)  A  lack  of  vigor  in  the  growth  that  in 
many  instances  follows  late  sowing,  even  though  the 
plants  should  survive  the  hazards  incurred. 

The  plan  which  sows  the  grain  so  late  in  the  autumn 
that  it  will  appear  above  the  ground  in  the  spring  has  met 
with  some  favor.  It  is  not  to  be  encouraged.  Should 
the  winter  weather  be  so  dry  that  germination  would  not 
take  place  until  sprifrg,  the  crop  would  not  reach  the 
earing  stage.  Nor  can  the  plants,  though  germination 
should  take  place  before  spring,  withstand  drought  as 
well  as  earlier  sown  and  deeper  rooted  plants.  The 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        181 

yields  from  the  former  are  usually  less  than  those  from 
the  latter. 

Where  the  land  has  been  properly  prepared  it  will 
seldom  happen  that  the  moisture  in  the  soil  will  not  be 
sufficient  to  produce  prompt  germination.  But  this  may 
occur  in  exceptional  instances.  When  it  does  the  question 
arises  as  to  whether  the  sowing  of  the  crop  should  or 
should  not  be  deferred  until  rain  falls.  The  safer  plan 
will  be  to  wait  as  long  as  it  may  be  safe  to  wait  without 
incurring  hazard  through  undue  lateness  in  sowing,  and 
then  to  put  in  the  seed.  If  rain  comes  the  crop  will  prob- 
ably succeed.  If  it  does  not  come,  the  only  direct  loss 
incurred  is  that  of  the  seed  and  the  labor  of  sowing,  as 
the  ground  will  remain  in  good  shape  for  receiving  other 
seed  sown  in  the  spring. 

The  time  to  sow  spring  grain. — The  aim  should  be  to 
sow  grain  in  the  spring  as  early  as  the  work  can  be  prop- 
erly done,  and  without  incurring  hazard  to  the  plants, 
and  for  the  following  reasons:  (1)  To  insure  germina- 
tion in  the  seed.  (2)  To  give  the  plants  all  the  benefits 
that  can  be  obtained  from  a  relatively .  long  period  of 
growth.  (3)  To  mature  them  before  the  very  hot  and 
dry  weather  arrives.  When  the  preparation  of  the  land 
has  been  begun  the  previous  year  and  under  suitable 
conditions,  it  is  very  seldom  indeed  that  the  moisture  in 
the  soil  will  be  too  much  lacking  for  germinating  the 
seeds  of  cereals  when  these  are  sown  in  season.  When 
the  plants  are  given  as  long  a  season  for  growth  as  the 
conditions  will  admit  of,  they  attain  to  a  vigor  of  matur- 
ing that  could  not  be  reached  save  under  very  exceptional 
conditions  by  plants  of  the  same  variety  th,at  are  sown 
late.  This  means  that  the  yields  will  be  relatively  less. 
When  sown  early,  growth  is  so  far  advanced  that,  when 
the  season  of  warm  weather  comes,  which  may  always  be 
looked  for  in  midsummer  in  semi-arid  countries,  they  will 


182  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

not  be  seriously  harmed  by  it.  Safety  in  this  respect  is 
further  safeguarded  by  sowing  early  maturing  varieties. 

The  aim  should  also  be  to  avoid  sowing  grain  late, 
for  the  following  reasons:  (1)  Because  of  the  hazard 
which  such  sowing  brings  to  desirable  germination.  (2) 
Because  of  the  hazard  that  the  crop  may  completely  fail. 
(3)  Because  of  the  disturbance  to  the  rotation  that  fol- 
lows failure.  When  grain  is  sown  relatively  late,  much 
of  the  moisture  may  have  gone  from  the  top  soil,  hence 
when  grain  is  deposited  in  the  same  it  may  be  necessary 
to  plant  it  too  deeply  to  insure  germination.  In  other 
instances  the  moisture  may  be  so  far  gone  that  ger- 
mination cannot  be  secured  as  in  the  case  of  flax  sown  on 
spring-plowed  land  and  under  very  dry  conditions.  In 
yet  other  instances,  the  germination  secured  is  only  par- 
tial. Some  of  the  plants  germinate  and  grow  on.  Some 
may  germinate  and  then  perish,  other  seeds  may  not 
germinate  at  all.  The  outcome  is  a  stand  so  imperfect 
that  a  full  crop  cannot  be  produced.  Of  course,  where 
germination  does  not  follow,  the  crop  is  not  produced, 
but  even  though  the  plants  should  start  in  good  form, 
they  are  much  more  liable  to  fail  subsequently  under  ad- 
verse conditions  than  plants  sown  early.  A  late  sown 
crop  may  start  well  in  dry  areas,  and  yet  fail  so  com- 
pletely subsequently  that  it  will  never  come  to  fruition. 
When  such  failure  results,  the  rotation  planned  may  be 
seriously  disturbed.  The  farmer  may  hesitate  as  to 
whether  the  crop  should  be  left  or  disced  over  until  the 
season  is  so  far  advanced  that  the  larger  portion  of  the 
moisture  has  left  the  soil.  The  crop  may  thus  be  lost, 
while  the  land  is  not  left  in  the  most  desirable  condition 
for  receiving  a  crop  the  following  season,  because  of  the 
loss  in  moisture  thus  incurred. 

The  conditions  suitable  for  sowing  include:  (1)  a 
properly  prepared  seed  bed,  and  (2)  sowing  that  is  sea- 
sonable. A  properly  prepared  seed  bed  includes:  (1)  one 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        183 

that  has  been  prepared  long  enough  beforehand  and  ua- 
der  such  conditions  as  will  insure  enough  moisture  to 
give  the  crop  a  good  start,  and  (2)  a  soil  that  is  in  proper 
mechanical  condition.  It  may  not  be  possible  in  all  in- 
stances to  secure  either  when  the  plowing  is  not  done 
until  after  the  opening  of  spring.  Nor  may  it  be  possi- 
ble under  such  conditions  to  bring  it  into  a  proper  me- 
chanical condition;  that  is,  a  condition  of  correct  fria- 
bility. Friability,  that  is  a  fine  condition  as  to  pulveri- 
zation, is  influenced  by  the  amount  of  moisture  present 
or  absent  as  well  as  by  the  natural  texture  of  the  soil. 
An  overwet  condition  of  the  soil  is  to  be  avoided  when 
sowing  as  well  as  a  condition  overdry.  Of  the  two  evils 
it  would  be  the  greater. 

Sowing  that  is  seasonable  may  be  defined  as  sowing 
that  is  not  so  early  or  so  late  as  to  incur  hazard  to  the 
kind  of  crop  sown.  Such  hazard  may  come  from  cold 
and  frost  at  the  opening  of  spring  or  from  lack  of  mois- 
ture late  in  the  season  or  it  may  come  from  trying  to  grow 
the  plant  under  conditions  not  suited  to  its  needs.  The 
hazard  from  cold  and  frost  in  early  sowing  is  greatly  in- 
fluenced by  species  and  variety.  After  the  opening  of 
spring,  hazard  from  the  influences  named  would  seldom 
affect  spring  wheat,  for  instance,  adversely,  howsoever 
early  it  might  be  sown,  whereas  oats  sown  thus  early 
may  be  seriously  injured.  The  order  for  sowing  spring 
sown  cereals  is  about  as  follows :  Spring  wheat,  speltz 
and  spring  rye  may  be  first  sown  and  about  equally  early ; 
peas  and  barley  may  follow  closely,  especially  when  the 
barley  is  of  the  hulless  variety ;  oats  may  follow  in  close 
succession  and  after  oats  flax.  Young  plants  that  cannot 
endure  freezing  should  be  kept  beneath  the  surface  until 
the  hazard  from  frost  is  practically  past.  Such  are  pota- 
toes and  the  more  tender  of  the  garden  vegetables. 
Other  plants,  as  rutabagas,  should  not  be  sown  usually 
as  early  as  they  will  grow,  lest  the  quality  should  be  af- 


184  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

fected  adversely.  But  the  aim  should  be  to  sow  all  crops 
as  soon  as  possible  after  the  proper  season  has  arrived 
for  sowing  them.  Promptness  in  sowing  when  that  time 
comes,  is  doubly  important  in  dry  areas. 

The  depth  to  sow. — The  best  depth  at  which  to  sow 
seed  is  influenced:  (1)  by  the  soil;  (2)  by  the  moisture 
present;  (3)  by  the  character  of  the  seed  ;  and  (4)  by  the 
season.  These  influences  may  act  separately  or  more  or 
less  in  conjunction. 

The  more  loose  and  spongy  the  soil  is  and  the  great- 
er the  degree  of  its  porosity,  the  more  deeply  may  seeds 
be  planted  and  the  greater  also  is  the  necessity  for  plant- 
ing them  relatively  deeply.  In-  such  soils,  the  young 
germs  may  readily  push  their  way  up  to  the  light,  a  re- 
sult that  would  not  be  so  easily  attained  by  the  same  in 
stiff  soils.  Seeds,  therefore,  should  be  planted  less  deep- 
ly as  the  density  of  the  soil  increases. 

The  moisture  in  the  soil  is  a  more  important  factor 
relatively  in  dry  than  in  humid  areas,  and  it  exercises  a 
correspondingly  greater  influence  on  the  results.  When 
moisture  is  sufficiently  present,  it  is  comparatively  easy 
to  determine  the  depth  for  planting  seeds,  providing  their 
habits  of  growth  are  understood.  It  is  different,  how- 
ever, when  the  moisture  is  more  or  less  lacking.  If  the 
moisture  has  left  the  upper  section  of  the  tilled  area,  to 
insure  prompt  germination  the  seed  must  be  put  down 
far  enough  to  reach  the  moisture  below.  When  seed  is 
thus  planted  more  deeply,  the  extent  to  which  it  will 
stand  such  increase  in  depth  must  be  considered.  About 
2  inches  is  a  very  suitable  depth  for  planting  several  kinds 
of  cereals  in  the  semi-arid  country,  but  should  the  mois- 
ture table  be  from  3  to  4  inches  below  the  surface,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  plant  the  seed  thus  deeply.  Such 
cereals  as  wheat  and  speltz,  also  some  others,  would  stand 
such  deep  planting,  but  this  would  not  be  true  of  flax. 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        185 

Should  the  proper  time  come  for  sowing  and  should 
the  moisture  be  so  lacking  as  to  prevent  germination,  it 
may  be  an  open  question  as  to  whether  sowing  should 
be  done  or  deferred  for  a  time,  at  least  until  moisture 
comes.  On  the  whole,  it  would  seem  better  to  sow, 
trusting  to  the  hope  that  rain  may  come.  Especially 
would  this  seem  to  be  wise  in  the  case  of  winter  wheat, 
as,  should  it  fail  to  grow,  a  crop  can  be  obtained  the  fol- 
lowing summer  from  the  same  land,  the  only  actual  loss 
being  that  of  the  seed  and  the  labor  of  sowing.  In  the 
spring  the  seed  and  the  crop  may  also  be  lost,  but  this 
will  occur  but  rarely,  so  rarely  that  the  hazard  from  such 
sowing  is  not  very  great.  The  greatest  hazard  is  in- 
curred from  improper  moisture  conditions  when  there 
is  enough  moisture  to  start  germination  in  part  but  not 
enough  to  complete  the  same.  While  it  is  possible  to 
start  germination  followed  by  cessation  of  the  same,  and 
this  in  turn  followed  by  a  continuance  in  growth,  and 
while  this  may  be  repeated  more  than  once,  growth  under 
such  conditions  is  never  satisfactory. 

The  seed  exercises  an  important  influence  on  the 
depth  to  which  it  should  be  planted.  When  the  mois- 
ture conditions  are  correct  it  may  be  said  without  hazard 
that  the  larger  the  seed  the  more  deeply  as  a  rule  may  it 
be  buried  with  safety.  In  humid  climates,  the  aim  is  to 
bury  small  seeds,  as  timothy,  shallow.  In  some  instances 
they  are  given  no  other  covering  than  that  which  rain 
brings ;  in  the  same  areas  wheat  is  buried  to  the  depth  of 
two  or  more  inches.  This  method  of  covering  timothy 
and  other  small  seeds  in  the  semi-arid  country  would 
almost  certainly  fail  because  of  the  dry  conditions  that 
come  later.  While,  therefore,  the  difference  in  the  depths 
to  which  the  various  kinds  of  seed  are  to  be  planted  be- 
cause of  a  difference  in  size,  is  not  to  be  ignored,  when 
planting  them  in  dry  areas  the  necessity  is  imperative  to 
plant  all  seeds  far  enough  below  the  surface  to  shield  the 


186  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

young  plants  that  spring  from  them  sufficiently  to  pro- 
tect them  at  least  measurably  well -from  the  harmful  in- 
fluences of  drought. 

The  season  may  influence  the  depth  to  which  seed 
should  be  sown  by  the  amount  of  moisture  which  it  puts 
into  the  soil  or  withholds  from  the  same.  In  times  of 
prolonged  drought,  the  soil,  other  things  being  equal, 
dries  to  a  greater  depth  than  when  the  weather  is  the 
opposite  in  character.  This,  of  course,  influences  the 
depth  to  which  seeds  must  be  buried,  if  they  are  to  grow. 

The  nurse  crop  and  sowing. — In  humid  areas  the 
rule  is  to  sow  grasses  and  clovers  on  land  which 
will  also  sustain  a  grain  crop  the  same  season.  The 
grass  crop  is  thus  established  without  losing  the  crop 
of  one  season  in  order  to  establish  it.  In  some  instances 
this  would  not  be  practicable  in  semi-arid  regions.  If 
two  crops  are  sown  thus,  there' is  a  contest  between  them 
for  moisture  during  the  period  of  growth.  The  grain 
crop,  that  is,  the  nurse  crop,  makes  the  more  vigorous 
growth,  and,  therefore,  it  gets  the  larger  share  of  the 
moisture  to  the  injury  of  the  other  crop  in  proportion 
as  its  power  exceeds  that  of  the  other  to  draw  on  the 
moisture  in  the  soil.  The  nurse  crop  also  weakens  the 
other  crop  by  its  shade  in  proportion  as  it  is  strong  or 
weak.  Moreover,  while  the  nurse  crop  is  maturing,  its 
draughts  upon  soil  moisture  are  unusually  large,  leaving 
so  much  less  for  the  grass  or  clover  crop  at  a  critical 
time.  The  hazard  is  present  that  when  the  nurse  crop 
is  harvested  the  plants  will  succumb  to  the  hot  sun 
which  shines  down  upon  them  at  that  season  from  a 
torrid  sky.  In  humid  areas  these  influences  are  also 
operative,  but  not  to  the  extent,  save  in  a  few  instances, 
of  destroying  the  crop  that  is  being  nursed. 

It  may  be  legitimate  in  dry  areas  to  use  a  light  nurse 
crop  (1),  when  sowing  certain  grasses  for  making  pas- 
tures of  more  or  less  permanence,  and  (2)  when  the  soil 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        187 

on  which  the  crop  is  sown  is  so  light  as  to  lift  with  the 
wind.  Under  such  conditions  it  may  be  proper  to  sow 
a  few  pounds  of  oats  to  the  acre  with  the  understanding 
that  the  oats  are  to  be  prevented  from  maturing  by  graz- 
ing them,  or  by  cutting  them  for  hay  while  yet  green,  as 
may  be  deemed  best. 

In  but  few  instances  should  grasses  or  clover  be 
sown  with  a  nurse  crop  in  -the  semi-arid  belt.  It  may 
be  legitimate  to  sow  them  thus  under  some  conditions, 
where  the  normal  rainfall  is  15  to  20  inches,  and  espe- 
cially when  it  approaches  the  latter  figure.  But  when  it 
is  less  than  15  inches,  the  instances  are  rare  when  such 
sowing  is  legitimate.  It  may  be  possible  so  sow  alfalfa 
with  a  nurse  crop  and  get  a  stand,  even  when  the  rainfall 
is  less  than  15  inches,  but  the  wisdom  of  sowing  it  thus 
is  to  be  doubted,  as  the  plants  will  have  less  vigor  than 
if  the  crop  were  sown  alone,  and  this  will  react  adversely 
on  the  yields  in  the  future.  The  conditions,  therefore,  in 
the  semi-arid  belt  almost  completely  eliminate  the  nurse 
crop  from  the  system  of  farming. 

The  time  for  planting. — The  time  for  planting,  as 
well  as  that  for  seeding,  is  influenced  by:  (1)  the  crop; 
(2)  the  soil ;  (3)  the  season.  It  should,  as  a  rule,  be  done 
relatively  early  as  compared  with  planting  in  the  humid 
areas. 

The  species  and  variety  of  the  product  planted  exer- 
cises a  marked  influence  on  the  best  time  at  which  to 
plant  in  semi-arid  areas:  The  aim  should  be  to  grow 
such  species  only  as  are  relatively  hardy  for  the  locality, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  variety.  For  this  reason 
both  species  and  variety  should  be  given  more  care  and 
study  than  may  be  necessary  when  growing  the  same  in 
the  semi-arid  belt.  To  attempt  to  grow  species  or  variety 
where  the  conditions  are  not  fitted,  or  even  illy  fitted  for 
growing  them,  would  be  a  great  mistake  under  any  con- 


188  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ditions,  but  doubly  so  under  those  which  obtain  in  semi- 
arid  countries. 

The  soil  is  usually  in  a  condition  to  admit  of  plant- 
ing seed  earlier  under  dry  than  under  humid  conditions. 
This  arises  in  part  from  the  peculiarities  of  the  soil,  but 
more  from  the  limited  precipitation  that  usually  falls 
early  in  the  season.  In  the  semi-arid  belt  it  seldom  hap- 
pens that  the  usual  season  for  planting  is  delayed  by 
undue  wetness  in  the  soil,  but  it  does  sometimes  happen 
that  delay  follows  because  of  lack  of  moisture  in  the  soil. 
Should  the  season  for  planting  come  in  the  spring,  and 
yet  the  soil  is  too  lacking  in  moisture  to  bring  germina- 
tion to  the  seed,  the  wisdom  of  planting  or  of  withhold- 
ing the  same  until  moisture  comes  will  depend  somewhat 
on  the  usual  season  of  normal  rainfall.  When  this  comes 
during  the  perio'd  of  growth,  it  may  frequently  be  wiser 
to  plant  than  not  to  plant,  as  seed  in  the  soil  when  rain 
falls  will  usually  start  more  quickly  than  seed  put  into 
the  soil  after  rain.  But  the  hazard  should  be  avoided 
in  planting,  as  in  sowing,  of  putting  seed  into  soil  when 
in  a  condition  to  start  germination  without  perfecting 
the  same. 

The  season,  of  course,  influences  the  time  for  plant- 
ing equally  with  the  time  for  sowing.  This  influence 
alone  may  make  a  difference  of  at  least  several  weeks 
in  the  best  time  at  which  to  plant  a  certain  variety  of 
seed.  Latitude  also  is,  of  course,  a  potent  influence,  and 
so  is  elevation.  Both  must  be  taken  into  account  when 
determining  the  best  time  at  which  to  plant.  Altitude 
alone  may  make  a  difference  of  several  weeks  in  the 
favorable  season  for  planting  in  the  same  locality.  Among 
the  reasons  why  planting  may  be  done  in  soils  less  warm 
than  those  in  humid  areas,  and  also  relatively  earlier,  are 
the  following:  (1)  The  crops  planted  are  intrinsically 
hardier,  and,  therefore,  can  endure  more  hardship;  (2) 
the  soils  are  less  moist,  and,  because  of  this,  lack  of 


SOWING  AND  PLANTING  IN  DRY  AREAS        189 

warmth  in  them  is  less  hazardous  than  lack  of  warmth 
in  the  same  in  humid  areas;  (3)  the  injury  from  frost  in 
dry  areas  is  much  less  than  injury  from  frost  of  the 
same  temperature  would  be  in  humid  areas.  It  has  been 
noticed  frequently  that  the  thermometer  may  fall  several 
degrees  below  the  freezing  point,  especially  in  mountain 
areas,  without  injury  to  the  vegetation.  This  result  fol- 
lows, probably,  because  of  the  more  dry  condition  of  the 
atmosphere.  When  plants  are  damaged  by  frost,  they 
also  recover  more  readily  than  plants  thus  injured  in 
humid  areas.  This  furnishes  an  argument  in  favor  of 
early  planting. 

The  methods  of  planting. — The  methods  of  planting 
will  consider:  (1)  planting  in  hills;  (2)  planting  in 
drills,  and  (3)  planting  on  the  broadcast  plan.  From 
what  has  been  said,  the  place  for  broadcasting  will  be 
very  limited. 

Hill  planting  should  be  practised  in  preference  to 
drill  planting  where  it  will  answer  as  well  all  the  ends 
sought.  It  has  the  following  advantages  over  drill 
planting:  (1)  The  ground  is  stirred  over  a  larger  area 
of  the  surface,  which  means  that  the  conservation  of 
moisture  may  be  more  complete  on  the  whole;  (2)  the 
crowding  of  the  plants  is  more  easily  prevented,  which 
makes  easier  the  regulation  of  the  distribution  of  mois- 
ture, but  too  much  must  not  be  made  of  this  advantage ; 
(3)  the  cleaning  of  the  soil  may  be  more  complete  than 
would  be  possible  when  the  crop  is  planted  in  drills  with- 
out the  aid  of  considerable  hand  labor;  (4)  there  is  also 
some  saving  in  the  amount  of  seed  sown. 

Drill  planting  is,  in  a  sense,  necessary  under  certain 
conditions,  even  with  some  crops  that  are  frequently 
grown  in  hills.  Take  corn,  for  instance.  When  grown  for 
fodder  it  is  rather  more  easily  harvested  with  the  corn 
harvester.  There  is  some  saving  also  in  the  labor  of 
sowing  and  harvesting.  When  the  crop  is  listed  drill- 


190  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ing  is  essential.  The  same  is  true  of  that  system  which 
drops  such  seeds  as  corn  and  potatoes  in  the  open  fur- 
row while  sod  is  being  broken.  Certain  other  crops 
must  be  grown  in  drills  rather  than  hills  from  their 
nature  and  habits  of  growth.  Such  are  rape  and  millet. 
But  these  come  under  the  head  of  crops  sown  rather 
than  planted.  Many  of  the  crops  planted  in  dry  areas 
will  be  grown  in  hills  rather  than  in  drills. 

Planting  on  the  broadcast  plan  will  virtually  have 
no  place  in  the  dry  area,  nor  has  it  much  of  a  place  any- 
where. But  sowing  thus  may  sometimes  be  given  a  place 
in  dry  areas  with  certain  crops  that  are  usually  sown  in 
rows.  It  is  easily  possible  to  obtain  a  fair  crop  of  ruta- 
bagas, for  instance,  when  the  seed  is  broadcasted  on  new- 
ly plowed  breaking.  The  same  is  true  of  field  beans. 
These  are  crude  methods,  but  they  may  help  out  the 
settler  who  is  just  beginning  work  on  his  homestead. 


CHAPTER  X 
CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS 

The  range  of  the  crops  that  may  be  grown  in  dry 
areas  is  wide,  but  not  so  wide  as  in  humid  areas.  This 
applies  not  only  to  species,  but  also  to  varieties  within 
the  species.  It  would  be  fair  to  concede  that  dry  areas 
have  adaptation  less  high  than  humid  areas:  (1)  for 
growing  hay  and  pasture  plants;  (2)  for  growing  roots 
and  tubers ;  (3)  for  growing  fruits  and  vegetables,  and 
(4)  for  growing  forest  trees  and  windbreaks.  This  is 
not  true,  however,  of  small  grains  and  of  certain  culti- 
vated crops  nor  is  it  true  of  all  kinds  of  hay,  for  the 
average  yield  of  alfalfa  in  dry  areas  is  more  than  the 
average  yield  of  many  hay  crops  in  humid  areas.  But  it 
is  in  the  production  of  small  grains  that  the  dry  areas 
chiefly  excel.  The  labor  of  growing  these  crops  is  rela- 
tively greater  in  dry  areas,  but  the  compensation  comes 
in  part  in  the  large  yields  obtained,  in  part  from  the  little 
loss  of  the  crop  and  in  labor  from  bad  weather,  and  in 
the  slight  loss  in  fertility  from  leaching. 

Crops  that  should  be  grown. — The  crops  that  should 
be  grown  are  the  following:  (1)  Those  that  will  grow 
best  under  a  light  precipitation ;  .(2)  those  that  will  best 
endure  a  dry  atmosphere ;  (3)  those  that  mature  early 
rather  than  late.  Some  crops  that  should  not  be  grown 
will  also  be  considered. 

The  amount  of  precipitation  called  for  to  grow  crops 
of  different  species  varies  greatly.  Clover  crops  call  for 
a  higher  precipitation  than  alfalfa.  Oat  crops  need  more 
rain  than  wheat  or  rye.  Corn  calls  for  more  moisture 
than  the  non-saccharine  sorghums.  Cottonwood  trees 
must  have  more  moisture  to  grow  them  at  their  best 
than  white  willows,  and  white  willows  do  not  require 
so  much  as  diamond  willows.  Crops  of  the  same  species 


192  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

may  also  differ  much  in  the  amount  of  moisture  called 
for  to  grow  them  in  their  several  varieties.  Durum 
wheat,  for  instance,  can  better  endure  dry  conditions 
than  fife  wheat.  Western  rye  grass  can  stand  more 
drought  than  timothy,  and  common  red  clover  calls  for 
less  moisture  precipitation  than  alsike  clover.  The  con- 
trasts mentioned  are  not  in  all  instances  the  outcome  of 
a  greater  or  a  less  amount  of  water  actually  used  in 
growing  the  crop.  It  may  and  does  arise  in  part  from 
the  greater  power  which  some  crops  have  to  gather 
moisture  from  lower  depths  than  others.  Thus  alfalfa 
can  draw  moisture  from  lower  depths  tharr  clover,  and 
rye  from  lower  depths  than  oats.  Those  crops,  there- 
fore, that  have  proved  best  adapted  to  succeed  under 
dry  conditions,  should  be  given  the  preference  in  semi- 
arid  regions. 

Much  that  has  been  said  with  reference  to  the  ability 
of  plants  to  grow  on  a  limited  rainfall,  or  to  the  lack  of 
the  same  in  them,  will  apply  equally  to  the  ability  of  the 
same  plants,  or  to  the  lack  of  ability  in  them,  to  endure 
dry  atmospheric  conditions.  The  crops  that  do  not 
usually  grow  at  their  best  in  a  dry  atmosphere  include 
the  Canadian  field  pea,  the  common  vetch,  clover  in  many 
of  its  varieties,  flax  when  grown  for  fiber  and  such  veg- 
etables as  turnips.  This  does  not  mean  that  these  crops 
cannot  be  grown  under  dry  atmospheric  conditions,  but 
that  they  cannot  be  so  well  grown  under  these  condi- 
tions as  under  conditions  the  opposite.  The  temperature 
exercises  an  important  influence.  Peas  and  vetches,  for 
instance,  will  flourish  much  better  in  the  higher  eleva- 
tions where  the  temperatures  are  moderate  than  in  the 
river  basins  where  they  are  hot.  These  differences 
should  all  be  recognized  when  growing  plants  in  dry 
areas,  and  the  farmer  should  govern  himself  accordingly. 
In  dry  areas  crops  that  mature  early  rather  than  late 
should  be  given  the  right  of  way,  so  to  speak.  This  will 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS    193 

apply  to  both  species  and  varieties.  All  winter  crops, 
as,  for  instance,  winter  wheat,  winter  barley,  winter  rye 
and  winter  oats,  mature  earlier  than  spring-sown  varie- 
ties of  the  same.  This  means  that  these  should  be  grown 
in  preference  to  the  spring-sown  varieties  whenever  the 
climatic  conditions  will  admit  of  growing  them  with 
measurable  success  in  the  winter  form.  These  will  all 
mature  earlier  when  grown  in  the  winter  form  than  if 
sown  in  the  spring,  and  as  a  result  they  are  injured  much 
less  by  the  drought  and  heat  of  the  late  summer  than 
the  same  species  when  they  are  sown  in  the  spring  form. 
This  means,  therefore,  that  such  species  as  mature  early 
should  be  given  the  preference.  It  means  also  that  early 
maturing  varieties  within  the  species  should  be  given 
the  preference,  other  things  being  equal.  The  crops 
that  should  not  be  grown  under  semi-arid  conditions  in- 
clude all  crops  that  call  for  a  copious  rainfall  and  a  moist 
atmosphere  to  grow  them  at  their  best.  This  will  narrow 
considerably  the  number  of  species  that  may  be  grown, 
and  also  the  number  of  the  varieties.  It  will  exclude 
nearly  all  varieties  of  crops  that  flourish  at  their  best 
under  moist  conditions.  None  of  these  should  be  grown 
other  than  in  a  tentative  way  under  dry  land  conditions. 
To  attempt,  for  instance,  to  grow  rape,  kale  and  serra- 
della  extensively  in  semi-arid  areas  by  the  same  methods 
under  which  they  are  grown  in  humid  areas  would  be 
most  unwise,  notwithstanding  the  fact  should  not  be  over- 
looked that  on  some  of  the  higher  elevations  these  crops 
may  be  grown  with  a  fair  measure  of  success,  even  in 
the  presence  of  dry  atmospheric  conditions. 

Cereal  crops  that  may  be  grown. — In  this  discussion 
will  be  considered  the  place  for  the  following  cereal  crops 
in  dry  areas,  viz. :  (1)  wheat;  (2)  flax;  (3)  rye;  (4)  bar- 
ley; (5)  oats;  (6)  speltz,  and  (7)  peas.  Buckwheat  may 
also  be  grown  where  the  elevation  is  not  too  high,  but 
experience  in  growing  it  in  such  areas  is  limited  as  yet. 


194  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

All  of  these  may  be  grown  with  more  or  less  success 
under  semi-arid  conditions.  The  winter  wheat  crop  will 
always  be  the  leading  money  crop  among  small  grains 
in  many  semi-arid  areas.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact,  first, 
that  it  always  finds  a  ready  market,  and  usually  at  good 
prices;  second,  that  the  yields  are  generally  more  sure 
than  from  the  spring  varieties,  since  it  ripens  in  advance 
of  the  hottest,  and  especially  of  the  driest,  weather,  and 
they  are  also  considerably  larger;  third,  owing  to  the 
time  when  it  is  sown  and  harvested,  it  aids  in  the  better 
distribution  of  the  labor  of  the  farm,  and,  fourth,  it  aids  in 
the  cleaning  of  the  land  through  the  specific  methods  of 
preparing  the  soil  which  it  calls  for.  This  does  not 
mean  that  spring  wheat  may  not  be  grown  in  the  same 
areas,  and  in  some  instances  even  more  successfully  than 
winter  wheat,  but  it  does  mean  that  in  a  very  large  por- 
tion of  the  semi-arid  area  winter  wheat  will  be  a  safer 
crop  than  spring  wheat.  The  winter  wheat  crop  has 
special  adaptation  for  following  summer-fallow,  as 
it  begins  to  use  the  moisture  that  has  been  stored  up  in 
the  soil  at  a  much  earlier  period  than  it  can  be  drawn 
upon  by  any  spring  crop,  should  the  same  be  planted  on 
the  land.  Where  the  winter  temperatures  are  very  ex- 
treme, however,  winter  wheat  may  not  be  successfully 
grown  in  the  dry  country,  unless  some  kind  of  winter 
protection  is  furnished  to  the  crop. 

Spring  wheat  will  be  an  important  crop  in  all  time 
in  the  dry  country,  but  in  the  larger  portion  thereof  it 
will  be  relatively  less  important  than  winter  wheat.  It 
will  be  less  important  than  the  former  in  proportion  as 
the  winters  are  mild  and  in  proportion  to  the  extent  to 
which  the  precipitation  falls  in  the  autumn  and  winter 
months.  As  previously  intimated,  the  winter  climate  in 
some  parts  of  the  semi-arid  belt  is  so  severe  that  winter 
wheat  is  not  an  assured  success  without  it  is  in  some 
way  protected  in  winter.  Spring  wheat,  therefore, 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS    195 


will  always  be  more  important,  relatively,  than  win- 
ter wheat  in  much  of  the  dry  areas  of  the  Dakotas, 
and  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  dry  areas  in  western 
Canada.  Precipitation  increases  in  the  autumn  and  win- 
ter, as  the  Cascade  Mountains  are  approached.  The 
areas,  therefore,  other  things  being  equal,  that  have,  the 
lowest  adaptation  for  growing  spring  wheat  are  those 
nearest  to  the  Cascades,  and  the  measure  of  suitability 
should  be  increased  as  these  are  receded  from.  Where 
the  bulk  of  the  precipitation  falls  in  winter,  too  much 


DRY  LAND  WHEAT  NEAR  KALISPELL,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

of  it  leaves  the  soil  before  crops  of  spring  wheat  may  be 
matured.  ,  '  .1 

The  place  for  flax  in  much  of  the  dry  area  is  a  very 
important  one,  but  it  will  not  be  of  equal  significance  in 
all  areas.  It  grows  in  reasonably  cool  rather  than  in 
warm  temperatures.  Because  of  this,  the  growth  of 
flax  will  be  pursued  to  a  much  greater  extent  in  the 
northern  areas  of  the  semi-arid  belt  than  in  those  farther 


196  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

southward.  As  the  latitude  recedes  toward  the  equator, 
the  elevations  most  suitable  to  the  growing  of  flax 
ascend.  The  crop  when  grown  in  dry  areas  is  produced 
almost  entirely  for  the  grain.  The  conditions  are  too 
dry  for  growing  the  best  quality  of  fiber.  In  the  future 
large  quantities  of  flax  will  be  grown  in  the  Dakotas, 
as  in  the  past.  The  adaptation  of  these  states  for  grow- 
ing flax  has  been  abundantly  proved.  Many  of  the 
farmers,  however,  have  made  the  grievous  mistake  of 
sowing  flax  infected  with  wilt.  Such  seed  was  in  very 
many  instances  sown  unconsciously  at  the  first.  Later, 
in  some  instances,  it  was  the  outcome  of  deliberate 
carelessness.  This  means  that  much  of  the  area  formerly 
devoted  to  growing  flax  crops  cannot  be  so  used  for  a 
term  of  years,  until  the  wilt  dies  out  in  the  land.  The 
farmers  who  try  to  grow  flax  in  new  areas  should  profit 
from  the  knowledge  of  this  experience. 

Montana  will  doubtless  become  a  great  flax  pro- 
ducing state.  The  conditions  on  Montana  benches  are 
more  than  ordinarily  favorable.  In  some  instances  rec- 
ord-breaking crops  have  already  been  obtained.  That 
portion  of  the  Canadian  provinces  in  the  dry  area  of 
the  Canadian  west  have  adaptation  equally  high. 

Winter  rye  will  doubtless  prove  a  more  sure  crop 
and  over  a  wider  area  than  any  other  cereal  that  can  be 
grown  in  the  dry  area.  The  nearest  competitor  to  it  in 
this  respect  is  probably  speltz.  Rye  can  grow  under  con- 
ditions more  dry  than  would  be  suitable  for  wheat,  and 
it  is  less  harmed  by  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold.  Bet- 
ter crops  of  grain  will  be  obtained  from  rye  in  the  north- 
ern areas  of  the  dry  belt  than  in  the  southern,  as  in 
the  case  of  wheat.  But  when  winter  rye  is  grown 
mainly  to  provide  pasture,  it  may  furnish  more  of  the 
same  in  many  of  the  areas  southward,  for  in  these  it 
has  a  longer  time  in  which  to  grow. 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS    197 

While  the  winter  rye  crop  may  be  grown  success- 
fully in  areas  too  dry  and  cold  for  wheat,  there  are 
conditions  of  drought  and  cold  in  which  it  will  not  suc- 
ceed. Under  some  conditions  it  may  not  germinate  in 
the  autumn  from  lack  of  moisture.  Under  other  con- 
ditions it  may  germinate  so  feebly  that  the  plants  cannot 
withstand  the  injury  which  may  come  to  them  from 
winds,  cold  and  dry.  Spring  rye  may  be  grown  over 
an  area  equally  wide,  but  it  will  not  yield  so  well,  as 
a  rule,  as  the  winter  variety. 

Barley  in  some  of  its  varieties  will  grow  well  in 
dry  areas.  The  variety  that  has  shown  highest  and 
most  general  adaptation  is  that  known  as  the  white 
hulless,  a  variety  without  beards  on  the  heads  or  hull 
on  the  grain.  The  merit  of  this  grain  for  dry  areas  is 
enhanced  by  the  early  season  at  which  it  matures,  which 
brings  it  to  the  ripening  stage  before  the  weather  of 
summer  reaches  its  hottest,  and  especially  its  driest, 
stage.  As  this  barley  is  not  suitable  for  malting,  it  is 
to  be  grown  for  feeding  rather  than  for  commercial 
purposes.  Some  varieties  may  also  be  grown  success- 
fully for  malting,  but  probably  not  over  areas  so  wide 
as  the  hulless  varieties.  The  Mensury,  which  is  a 
six-rowed  variety  and  bearded,  has  shown  at  least  fair 
adaptation  for  being  grown  over  the  more  humid  por- 
tions of  the  dry  region.  This  variety  will  grow  to  a 
greater  height  than  the  white  hulless,  which  in  some 
instances  is  so  short  that  reaping  is  difficult,  but  the 
latter  will  grow  under  conditions  more  dry  than  would 
be  suitable  for  the  former.  These  barleys,  as  in  the 
case  of  other  cereals,  have  highest  adaptation  for  the 
northern  areas  of  the  dry  belt,  and  for  the  elevated 
plateaus  of  the  states  farther  south.  Some  winter  vari- 
eties may  be  grown  where  the  winters  are  mild.  Barley 
will  be  a  relatively  important  crop  in  all  the  future  in 
dry  areas,  more  especially  for  food  uses. 


198  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  place  for  the  oat  crop  in  dry  areas  is  important, 
but  less  so  relatively  than  in  humid  areas.  This  arises 
from  the  somewhat  greater  difficulty  found  in  growing 
it.  It  is  more  easily  injured  by  frost  in  the  spring  than 
certain  other  cereals,  hence  it  cannot  be  sown  safely 
quite  so  early,  which  hinders  it  from  making  use  of  the 
moisture  in  the  soil  at  so  early  a  period.  Moreover,  the 
oat  crop  calls  for  relatively  more  water  to  grow  it  than 
these,  hence  the  adaptation  of  the  oat  crop  for  being 
grown  over  wide  areas  of  the  dry  country  is  not  so 
complete  as  that  of  some  various  other  cereals.  In  some 
areas  the  winter  oat  may  be  grown  where  the  spring- 
varieties  would  not  succeed.  Especially  is  this  true 
southward,  where  the  bulk  of  the  precipitation  comes 
in  the  late  autumn  and  winter  months.  As  a  rule,  the 
varieties  that  usually  prove  the  most  satisfactory  are 
those  which  call  for  a  relatively  short  period  in  which 
to  grow  and  which  mature  relatively  early. 

Speltz  is  a  hardy  and  rugged  grain.  Its  distribution 
in  the  dry  belt  will  fully  equal  that  of  rye,  and  will 
probably  exceed  that  of  wheat.  It  has  much  power  to 
endure  cold  when  the  plants  are  young,  hence  it  may 
be  sown  early — as  early,  as  a  rule,  as  it  will  be  proper 
to  work  the  soil.  It  would  also  seem  safe  to  say  that 
it  will  be  less  injured  by  dry  and  hot  conditions  than 
most  other  grains.  When  its  properties  come  to  be 
better  understood  than  at  present,  the  crop  will  be  more 
extensively  grown  than  has  been  the  case  previously  in 
the  semi-arid  area.  The  grain  furnishes  good  food  for 
all  classes  of  domestic  animals  kept  upon  the  farm,  when 
properly  fed  to  them.  It  is  especially  valuable  in  fur- 
nishing food  for  horses.  This  crop  will  probably  prove 
more  satisfactory  southward  in  the  dry  area  than  other 
cereals,  because  of  its  ability  to  stand  up  under  both 
heat  and  drought. 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS    199 

The  field  pea,  very  frequently  designated  the  Cana- 
dian field  pea,  will  come  to  be  extensively  grown  in 
dry  areas,  but  not  in  all  parts  of  the  same.  The  pea 
cannot  endure  the  same  amount  of  drought  and  heat 
as  speltz,  for  instance,  hence  its  best  growth  will  be  in 
the  more  humid  portions  of  the  dry  belt,  and  especially 
where  the  elevation  is  so  high  that  extremely  hot  weather 
seldom  or  never  comes.  The  soil  in  the  semi-arid  coun- 
try is  well  supplied  with  the  food  constituents  that  will 
produce  large  yields  in  grain  from  peas  when  grown  un- 
der proper  conditions.  On  some  of  the  mountain  plateaus, 
very  large  crops  of  peas  have  been  grown,  and  also  on 
the  prairies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  dry  region.  But 
where  the  precipitation  runs  quite  low,  the  attempt 
should  not  be  made  to  grow  peas.  Southward  the  cow- 
pea  may  be  grown  in  certain  areas,  but  it  is  not  really 
a  drought-resistant  plant. 

Fodder  crops  that  may  be  grown. — This  discussion 
will  consider  the  place:  (1)  for  corn;  (2)  for  sorghum; 
(3)  for  the  non-saccharine  sorghums,  and  (4)  for  millets 
and  also  mixed  grains.  It  will  be  observed  that  fodder 
crops  in  the  discussion  means  such  crops  as  are  grown 
mainly  for  fodder,  but  which  may  also  furnish  some 
grain.  For  instance,  the  corn  referred  to  may  have  on 
it  nubbins,  that  is,  small  ears  of  various  sizes  bearing 
mature  grain.  In  the  semi-arid  area,  the  question  of 
providing  fodder  is  one  of  much  significance,  since  the 
hay-producing  plants  are  not  numerous.  These  crops, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  small  grains,  call  for  cultivation 
while  in  process  of  growth. 

The  corn  crop  is  destined  to  be  the  most  important 
among  fodder  crops  that  can  be  grown  over  fully  two- 
thirds  of  the  dry  area.  In  the  remaining  third,  that  is, 
in  the  third  that  lies  southward,  the  sorghums  will,  to 
a  large  extent,  at  least,  take  its  place.  It  should  be 
remembered,  however,  that  corn,  even  for  fodder,  cannot 


200  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

be  certainly  depended  on  to  escape  the  autumn  frosts 
at  elevations  much  beyond  4,000  feet  above  sea  level. 
The  high  adaptation  of  corn  for  such  production  is  found 
in  the  fact:  (1)  that  it  will  furnish  more  fodder  than 
any  other  plant  that  can  be  grown  in  the  area  specified ; 
(2)  that  it  furnishes  fodder  of  an  excellent  quality ;  (3) 
that  it  is  one  of  the  surest  of  the  crops  that  may  be 
grown,  and  (4)  that  growing  it  puts  the  ground  in  a 
good  condition  for  growing  a  crop  of  small  grain.  Of 
course,  the  yields  obtained  will  vary  much,  but  not  less 
than  two  tons  of  cured  fodder  should  be  obtained  per 


THE  DEERE  14-TOOTH  STEEL  LEVER  CULTIVATOR. 
Courtesy  Deere  &  Webber  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

acre  yearly.  The  quality  of  the  fodder  is  superior,  be- 
cause of  the  relatively  large  amount  of  leaf  growth  which 
it  contains,  because  of  the  fineness  of  the  stalks,  and  be- 
cause of  the  bright  character  of  the  fodder,  cured  as  it  is 
in  a  dry  atmosphere  and  in  the  absence  of  rain.  It  is 
one  of  the  surest  of  the  crops  grown,  because  of  the 
cultivation  that  it  calls  for  while  it  is  being  grown.  This 
makes  it  possible  to  grow  a  crop  under  conditions  that 
would  not  produce  a  grain  crop.  The  cultivation  given  to 
the  corn  aids  in  so  conserving  moisture  that  a  crop  of 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS   201 

grain  may  be  made  to  follow  it  almost  any  season  with- 
out the  hazard  of  failure. 

It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  corn  can  be  grown 
so  successfully  in  the  semi-arid  country  as  in  the  corn 
belt.  So  large  a  tonnage  of  forage  cannot  be  obtained 
from  it,  nor  so  large  a  yield  of  ears.  In  its  habit  of 
growth  it  is  more  dwarfish,  and  only  quick  maturing 
varieties  can  be  grown  in  the  more  northerly  areas  of 
the  semi-arid  country.  In  much  of  the  same  it  is  neces- 
sary that  it  will  mature  in  from  90  to  120  days  in  order 
to  escape  the  frosts  of  autumn.  The  coolness  of  the 
nights  are  against  the  rapid  growth  of  the  corn,  but 
the  long  hours  of  the  summer  sunlight  tend  to  counter- 
act that  handicap. 

While  the  corn  crop  in  the  dry  area  will  probably 
be  grown  more  for  fodder  than  for  any  other  purpose, 
this  does  not  mean  that  it  will  not  be  grown  in  numerous 
areas  mainly  for  the  grain.  The  yields,  while  relatively 
less  than  in  the  corn  belt,  are  relatively  large  in  propor- 
tion to  the  production  of  stalk,  hence;  when  the  farmer 
can  afford  the  time,  he  may  husk  his  corn,  but,  since  it 
is  labor-saving  to  feed  it  in  the  bundle  and  since  it  is 
greatly  important  that  large  areas  shall  be  grown,  be- 
cause of  the  influence  which  such  growth  will  have  upon 
grain  production,  it  is  probable  that  for  every  acre  that 
is  husked  several  acres  will  be  fed  without  husking.  In 
some  instances,  also,  small  varieties  may  be  grown  and 
grazed  down  by  sheep  or  swine  when  ripe. 

The  place  for  sorghum  is  not  so  wide  in  the  semi- 
arid  region  as  for  corn.  In  northern  areas  the  mean 
temperature  is  too  low  to  grow  sorghum  at  its  best.  In 
southern  areas  some  of  the  non-saccharine  sorghums  will 
do  better,  as,  for  instance,  Milo  maize  and  Kafir  corn. 
The  place  for  sorghum  will  be  in  the  central  portions 
of  the  semi-arid  country  rather  than  in  the  extremes 
thereof,  and  in  the  warm  rather  than  the  cool  portions 


202  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

of  the  same.  The  place  for  the  non-saccharine  sorghums 
in  the  dry  region  covers  a  relatively  large  area.  These 
include  Kafir  corn,  Jerusalem  corn,  brown  durra  and  Milo 
maize.  Of  these  Milo  maize  stands  highest  in  favor,  but 
Kafir  corn  will  also  be  grown  over  wide  areas.  All  these 
plants  have  much  power  to  resist  drought,  and  especially 
the  two  last  named.  Both  will  be  grown  to  provide  fod- 
der and  also  grain  for  various  classes  of  farm  animals,  at 
least  as  far  north  as  the  parallel  40,  that  is,  as  far  north 
as  the  latitude  of  Denver. 

The  place  for  millets  in  the  dry  country  will  depend 
much  on  the  variety  grown,  and  on  the  manner  of  grow- 
ing them.  The  broom  corn  variety  or  varieties  have 
highest  adaptation  for  such  areas  among  the  varieties  at 
present  grown.  In  order  to  grow  them  at  their  best,  it 
will  probably  be  necessary  to  plant  the  seed  in  rows  and 
to  cultivate  them  more  or  less  during  the  period  of 
growth.  When  grown  thus,  it  would  seem  safe  to  say 
that  this  class  of  millets  may  be  grown  over  nearly  all 
of  the  dry  area.  The  same  may  also  prove  at  least  meas- 
urably true  of  some  other  varieties. 

Certain  grains  may  also  be  grown  in  admixture  to 
provide  fodder  and  also  hay.  The  combinations  best 
suited  to  such  growth  are  not  well  understood  as  yet. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  Canadian  field  pea  and 
oats,  or  the  same  and  barley  of  the  hulless  varieties,  will 
stand  highest  in  favor  except  where  the  bulk  of  the  pre- 
cipitation comes  in  winter.  In  such  areas  the  sand  vetch 
and  some  winter  cerealmay  yet  be  extensively  grown. 

Hay  crops  that  may  be  grown. — Hay  crops  cannot 
be  grown  in  so  great  variety  in  the  semi-arid  as  in  the 
humid  regions,  nor  can  yields  as  large  be  obtained  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  alfalfa.  Hay  plants  must  be  grown 
where  the  land  is  to  be  tilled,  or  some  substitute  must 
take  the  place  of  these.  Many  grass  crops  call  for  much 
water  to  grow  them  in  paying  quantities.  The  same  is 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS   203 

true  of  clovers.  While  they  are  growing,  it  is  not  prac- 
ticable to  Cultivate  them  so  as  to  conserve  moisture,  save 
in  exceptional  instances,  hence  it  is  not  possible  to  in- 
crease the  yields  to  anything  like  the  same  extent  as  in 
the  case  of  other  crops  in  the  growing  of  which  it  is 
possible,  to  some  extent,  to  conserve  moisture  by  culti- 
vative  processes  during  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  period  of 
growth. 

The  grass  plants  that  will  not  grow  at  their  best 
in  semi-arid  areas  include  almost  all,  if  not,  indeed,  all 
varieties  that  have  been  grown  under  domestication. 
Nevertheless,  some  of  these  may  grow  reasonably  well  in 
favored  situations,  as  at  certain  of  the  foothills  and  in 
other  locations  where  subterranean  waters  serve  in  a 
greater  or  lesser  degree  to  sub-irrigate  the  land.  The 
yields  from  native  grasses  on  ordinary  soils  are  not 
enough  to  justify  long  continuance  in  seeking  hay  from 
such  a  source.  The  rainfall  is  not  enough  to  grow  clovers 
at  their  best.  Sainfoin  is  more  promising,  but  it  has  not 
been  much  tried  in  the  semi-arid  country. 

Among  the  grass  plants  of  most  promise  for  hay  are : 
Russian  brome,  slender  wheat  grass,  frequently  called 
western  rye  grass,  tall  oat  grass,  and  meadow  fescue. 
The  best  distribution  of  these  is  not  known  at  the  present 
time.  Russian  brome  may  be  grown  over  much  of  the 
dry  area,  but  it  grows  much  better  over  the  northern 
than  over  the  southern  portions  of  the  same.  Without 
some  kind  of  renewal,  it  does  not  continue  to  give  large 
yields  of  hay  for  more  than,  say,  two  crops.  Slender 
wheat  grass  will  produce  relatively  fair  yields  for  a  con- 
siderable period.  It  will  grow  under  very  dry  condi- 
tions, but  does  not  grow  so  well  in  hot  southern  areas 
as  in  those  farther  north.  This  grass  soon  becomes  very 
woody  if  not  cut  promptly  at  a  certain  stage  in  its  growth. 
Tall  oat  grass  may  be  grown  over  a  large  portion  of  the 
dry  region.  The  adaptation  is  probably  more  suited  to 


204  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

mild  climates  rather  than  to  those  that  are  severe,  hence 
this  grass  will  be  grown  southward  rather  than  north- 
ward. While  this  grass  may  be  made  to  serve  a  useful 
end  in  many  areas,  it  is  not  probable  that  its  popularity 
will  ever  reach  high  water  mark  in  comparison  with 
some  other  grasses,  because  of  some  lack  in  palatability 
of  a  high  order.  The  ability  of  the  grass  to  stand  hard 
conditions  is  very  considerable.  Meadow  fescue  would 
seem  best  adapted  to  central  portions  of  the  dry  area  and 
probably  to  those  north  of  these.  The  salt  bush,  some- 
times called  salt  sage,  may  be  grown  with  some  success 
in  very  dry  areas.  It  is  not  easily  established,  but  when 
once  well  started  will,  under  some  conditions,  reseed 
itself.  It  will  provide  both  hay  and  pasture,  but  it  is  a 
woody  plant.  The  indefiniteness  of  statement  about 
these  grasses  is  justified,  on  the  ground  that  they  have 
been  so  little  tested  as  yet  in  semi-arid  areas. 

Alfalfa  is  undoubtedly  destined  to  become  the  hay 
crop  of  the  semi-arid  country,  and  for  the  following  rea- 
sons: (1)  It  may  be  grown  successfully  over  nearly  all 
the  tillable  portions  of  the  semi-arid  area.  Where  the 
rainfall  averages  not  less  than  10  inches  per  year,  the 
possibility  of  growing  alfalfa  successfully  for  hay  should 
not  be  questioned.  (2)  The  yields  to  be  expected  from 
it  will  probably  be  larger  than  those  obtained  from  any 
other  valuable  hay  plant  that  can  be  grown.  While  those 
yields  will  vary  much,  it  would  seem  safe  to  set  them 
down  as  being  not  much  less  than  two  tons  per  acre  year- 
ly on  an  average,  after  the  crop  has  become  established. 
(3)  It  will  add  largely  to  the  nitrogen  content  in  the  soil 
by  taking  the  same  from  the  air  and  depositing  it  in 
the  soil.  (4)  It  will  keep  the  land  well  supplied  with 
humus  in  the  large  store  of  vegetable  matter  which  it 
furnishes  in  its  roots.  No  other  plant  grown  in  dry 
areas  can  equal  it  in  this  respect.  (5)  It  will  act  as  a 
subsoiler  in  the  extent  to  which  its  roots  permeate  the 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS    205 

same.  They  fill  it  with  openings  in  the  form  of  numer- 
ous channels  as  their  roots  decay,  and  as  rain  falls  in  any 
large  quantity  on  the  surface  it  sinks  down  in  these  open- 
ings, adding  to  the  store  of  moisture  in  the  subsoil.  (6) 
It  is  at  least  equal,  if  not  superior,  in  nutrition  and  pal- 
atability  to  any  other  hay  plant  that  can  be  grown  in 
the  semi-arid  country.  All  these  conditions  point  to  the 
future  supremacy  of  alfalfa  as  a  hay  crop  and  probably 
to  some  extent  as  a  pasture  crop  in  these  areas. 

Some  of  the  cereals  will  be  grown  more  or  less  for 
hay.  This  means  that  they  will  be  cut  at  some  stage 
short  of  maturity.  While  all  the  cereals  suitable  for 
such  a  use  will  be  grown  more  or  less  to  provide  such 
hay,  wheat,  oats  and  barley  will  be  more  frequently  de- 
voted to  such  a  use  than  the  other  cereals.  If  peas  are 
grown  for  hay,  it  will  be  in  admixture  with  other  grain. 
Where  alfalfa  can  be  grown  reasonably  well,  hay  from 
cereals  is  too  costly  a  substitute.  White  hulless  barley 
ranks  high  in  suitability  for  furnishing  such  hay. 

Roots  and  tubers  that  may  be  grown. — These  two 
classes  of  roots  will  be  considered  separately,  and  also 
certain  hazards  to  be  avoided  in  growing  them.  Both 
classes  call  for  cultivation  while  they  are  being  grown, 
hence  under  dry  land  conditions  they  are  more  safe  than 
some  other  lines  of  production.  The  term  "roots"  is  here 
used  in  the  sense  of  field  ro"ots  grown  for  live  stock. 
These  include  turnips  and  rutabagas,  mangels  and  sugar 
beets,  also  carrots.  The  habits  of  growth  in  rutabagas 
and  turnips  do  not  differ  greatly.  The  distribution  for 
both,  therefore,  is  about  the  same.  Neither  endures  well 
hot  summer  temperatures,  hence  it  will  be  at  once  ap- 
parent that  the  place  for  both  is  in  northern  areas  of  the 
dry  country,  and  on  the  elevated  plateaus  in  other  sec- 
tions. Good  crops  of  these  may  be  grown  at  elevations 
more  than  5,000  feet  above  sea  level.  These  plants, 
therefore,  will  furnish  food  for  live  stock  in  areas  that 


206  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

would  be  too  cold  for  the  safe  production  of  fodder  corn. 
The  place  for  mangels  and  sugar  beets  covers  a  wider 
area  than  that  for  turnips  and  rutabagas,  as  the  former 
will  stand  more  heat  than  the  latter  without  languish- 
ing. Both  may  be  grown  in  nearly  all  the  tillable  areas 
of  the  semi-arid  belt,  save  on  the  very  high  elevations. 
In  such  locations  they  may  take  injury  from  frost  both 
in  the  spring  and  in  the  autumn. 

The  place  for  carrots  is  much  wider  than  for  any  of 
the  classes  of  field  roots  discussed  above.  They  will 
stand  more  frost  than  turnips  without  injury,  and  more 
drought  than  mangels  or  sugar  beets.  Western  soils, 
generally  speaking,  also  seem  very  well  adapted  to  their 
growth. 

But  two  classes  of  tubers  will  be  extensively  grown 
in  the  semi-arid  west,  at  least  for  many  years  to  come. 
These  are  potatoes  and  artichokes.  The  Irish  potato  is 
referred  to.  Sweet  potatoes  and  peanuts  may  be  grown 
to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent  in  the  central  and  southern 
portions  of  the  dry  belt,  but  it  will  be  under  irrigation 
rather  than  in  its  absence. 

The  Irish  potato  may  be  grown  successfully  on  a 
relatively  small  amount  of  moisture.  This  characteristic 
makes  it  one  of  the  safest  crops  for  the  settler  to  plant 
on  spring  breaking.  It  does  not  succeed  so  well,  how- 
ever, in  the  central  areas  of  the  dry  belt  as  in  those 
farther  north,  except  on  the  high  elevations,  and  on  these 
the  hazard  of  injury  from  frost  is  imminent.  In  the 
southern  areas  of  the  dry  region,  it  does  not  succeed 
so  well  as  in  the  central  areas.  The  advantage  that  the 
northern  area  has  over  the  central  and  southern  comes 
chiefly  from  the  cooler  temperature  which  it  possesses. 
Because  of  this  fact,  the  plan  is  good  which  aims  to  bring 
seed  from  the  north  every  two  or  three  years.  The 
short  season  in  which  the  potato  matures,  especially  in 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS    207 

the  earlier  varieties,  gives  the  crop  high  adaptation  for 
certain  portions  of  the  semi-arid  country. 

Artichokes  will  only,  or  at  least  mainly,  be  grown 
as  food  for  live  stock  and  especially  for  swine.  This  fact 
will  tend  much  to  restrict  the  area  of  their  growth.  Nev- 
ertheless they  can  be  grown  over  wide  areas  of  the  semi- 
arid  country.  The  mild  character  of  the  winters  in  much 
of  this  area  also  favors  the  easy  harvesting  of  the  crop 
when  grown,  as  it  may  be  harvested  by  swine,  even 
during  the  winter  months,  should  this  be  desired. 

Peanuts  may  be  grown  in  many  areas  where  the 
moisture  supply  is  limited  and  where  the  climate  is  suf- 
ficiently mild.  They  may  be  grown  for  live  stock,  for 
the  market  and  also  to  provide  food  for  live  stock,  espe- 
cially swine,  which  feed  upon  them  where  they  grow. 

In  growing  these  crops,  certain  hazards  are  to  be 
avoided.  Unless  germination  is  secured  with  consider- 
able promptness,  the  hazard  is  present  that  in  a  very  dry 
season  it  may  not  be  secured  at  all,  hence  the  importance 
of  having  the  ground  well  prepared  where  these  crops 
are  to  be  planted.  Unless  they  are  started  relatively 
early,  the  hazard  is  present  that  the  plants  will  not  be 
able  to  make  sufficient  progress  when  the  dry  weather 
of  summer  comes  to  insure  proper  development.  The 
hazard  from  early  freezing  is  to  be  considered.  This  is 
greatest  in  the  potato  and  the  artichoke,  and  least  in 
the  carrot.  Turnips  will  stand  very  hard  frost  in  the 
spring,  but  in  the  autumn  they  will  stand  much  freezing, 
especially  those  of  the  rutabaga  types.  Mangels  and 
sugar  beets  will  not  stand  much  freezing,  either  fall  or 
spring. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  though  all  these  crops 
can  be  grown  in  the  semi-arid  country,  it  is  not  prob- 
able that  they  will  be  extensively  grown  for  the  market 
unless  in  the  case  of  the  Irish  potato.  All  these  crops 
may  be  more  successfully  grown  under  irrigation.  This 


208  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

applies  also  to  the  Irish  potato,  except  in  so  far  as  quality 
is  concerned.  The  quality  of  the  potato  grown  without 
irrigation  is  much  superior.  For  use  on  the  farm, 'how- 
ever, all  these  crops  may  be  grown  with  more  or  less  ad- 
vantage. But  their  introduction  will  probably  be  gradual. 

Fruits  and  vegetables  that  may  be  grown. — The 
discussion  will  dwell:  (1)  on  the  place  for  small  fruits 
in  dry  areas;  (2)  the  place  for  large  fruits;  (3)  the  place 
for  vegetables,  and  (4)  the  place  for  fruits  that  may  yet 
be  introduced.  As  these  hav6  not  as  yet  been  grown 
over  much  of  the  dry  area,  the  discussion  on  the  growing 
of  fruits  and  vegetables  cannot  be  so  complete  as  could 
be  desired.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  these  products 
will  become  staples  in  the  semi-arid  country,  nor  is  it  to 
be  expected  that  they  will  be  grown  extensively  for  the 
market.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  grow  them  under  dry 
conditions  so  as  to  compete  with  the  same  under  condi- 
tions where  irrigation  is  practised.  This  does  not  mean, 
however,  that  they  may  not  be  grown  in  many  instances 
at  a  profit,  for  this  has  been  done  both  in  the  line  of 
fruits  and  vegetables,  even  where  the  annual  precipita- 
tion has  been  less  than  15  inches. 

The  small  fruits  that  may  be  grown  include  cur- 
rants, gooseberries/  raspberries  and  strawberries,  and 
along  with  these  may  be  included  plums  and  cherries, 
and  also  grapes.  The  currants  and  berries  mentioned 
may  be  grown  in  practically  all  the  tillable  portions  of 
the  semi-arid  country,  and  the  same  is  true  of  plums. 
Cherries,  however,  will  not  endure  the  winters  in  the 
northeastern  portions  of  the  semi-arid  area.  Whether 
raspberries  will  have  to  be  laid  down  in  winter  and  cov- 
ered, and  whether  strawberries  must  be  covered  to  in- 
sure a  crop,  will  depend  on  the  latitude.  That  all  these 
may  be  grown  in  ample  supply  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
farmer  need  not  be  questioned,  but  the  best  methods  of 
growing  them  are  not  generally  understood  as  yet  as 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS   209 

applicable  to  dry  conditions.  Nor  has  proper  preparation 
been  made  for  growing  them,  as  on  the  bench  lands 
where  the  winds  blow  freely  and  strongly  it  will  be 
necessary  to  grow  them  inside  of  shelter  belts  when 
these  have  been  provided.  It  will  also  be  a  decided  safe- 
guard where  water  can  be  readily  obtained  to  have  a 
small  reservoir  supplied  by  the  windmill  which  lifts  the 
water  supply.  This  water  reserve  may  not  be  needed  in 
all  seasons,  but  in  those  that  are  exceptionally  dry 
it  may  be  drawn  upon,  especially  at  that  season  when  the 
crop  is  maturing  and  when  it  is  more  liable  to  hazard 
than  at  any  other  time.  In  some  instances,  grapes,  if 
grown,  would  have  to  be  covered  in  winter,  and  in  the 
northerly  areas  it  is  questionable  if  summer  frosts  will 
admit  of  the  complete  maturing  of  the  fruit. 

By  large  fruits  is  meant  such  fruits  as  apples,  pears, 
peaches  and  quinces.  Apples  especially  may  be  grown 
in  much  of  the  semi-arid  area,  pears  less  well  and  peaches 
only  in  southerly  areas.  Some  good  apple  orchards  have 
been  made  a  success  commercially  where  the  rainfall 
averages  about  15  inches  annually.  Under  such  condi- 
tions, however,  there  is  some  hazard  that  the  crop  may 
suffer  somewhat  from  lack  of  moisture  during  the  ripen- 
ing period.  Under  other  conditions,  as  when  subter- 
ranean water  is  near,  this  hazard  may  not  be  present. 

Much  of  what  has  been  said  of  small  fruits  will 
apply  to  the  growing  of  vegetables,  but  of  course  it  will 
not  be  necessary  to  confine  the  growing  of  these  within 
shelter  belts,  nor  is  the  severity  of  the  winters  to  be 
reckoned  with  as  in  the  case  of  fruits.  Nearly  all  kinds 
of  vegetables  may  be  grown  that  belong  to  the  temperate 
zone,  but  not  so  as  to  compete  successfully  in  the  market 
with  vegetables  grown  under  irrigation.  This  does  not 
apply  to  the  early  varieties,  as  many  of  these  may  be 
ready  quite  as  soon  from  non-irrigated  as  from  irrigated 
land.  It  is  in  varieties  that  come  on  later  that  the  gar- 


210  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

dener  with  irrigating  waters  has  a  tremendous  advantage, 
as  he  has  also  in  the  succession  of  garden  crops  which 
he  may  grow  on  the  same  land.  Under  specially  favor- 
able situations,  the  truck  gardener  in  dry  areas  may  make 
a  success  in  his  work,  but,  ordinarily,  the  dry  farmer 
should  be  content  with  a  supply  of  vegetables  grown  for 
home  use.  Some  fruits  may  be  yet  introduced  which  in 
other  countries  have  shown  ability  to  grow  under  ex- 
tremely dry  conditions.  The  olive  industry,  which  has 
been  tried  tentatively  gives  much  promise  of  success. 
This  fruit  has  been  grown  successfully  in  some  of  the 
countries  of  the  old  world  where  the  annual  average 
rainfall  does  not  exceed  10  inches.  It  is  also  possible 
that  the  sycamore  fig,  the  Chinese  date,  some  nut-bear- 
ing trees  and  also  some  other  fruits,  may  be  grown 
successfully  under  equally  trying  conditions.  It  would 
not  be  possible  to  forecast  at  the  present  time  the  extent 
to  which  such  fruits  may  be  grown. 

Trees  and  windbreaks  in  dry  areas. — The  discussion 
will  dwell:  (1)  on  trees  for  shelter;  (2)  on  trees  for  for- 
est growth,  and  (3)  on  trees  for  fence  posts.  There  are 
areas  in  the  arid  country  so  completely  arid  as  to  pre- 
clude the  hope  of  growing  on  them  trees  or  shrubs  of 
any  kind.  But  the  hope  of  succeeding  with  some  varie- 
ties may  certainly  be  cherished  where  the  rainfall  is 
not  less  than  10  inches  annually.  Where  it  is  15  inches, 
success  is  assured  where  proper  methods  are  followed. 
As  a  rule  the  growing  of  windbreaks  should  precede  the 
growing  of  trees,  or  at  least  it  should  precede  the  planting 
of  the  same.  This  at  least  is  true  of  the  Great  Plains 
country,  which  to  so  great  an  extent  is  exposed  to  the 
action  of  strong  winds.  Trees  planted  to  form  wind- 
breaks of  the  pliant  order,  as  willows  for  instance,  take 
much  less  harm  from  the  rocking  of  the  winds  when  they 
are  young,  hence  the  aim  should  be  to  have  the  wind- 
break well  started  before  planting  forests  on  its  lee- 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS   211 

ward  side,  which  is  the  proper  place  for  planting  them. 
It  is  doubtful  if  any  tree  will  render  greater  service  in 
furnishing  a  windbreak  than  the  white  or  gray  willow, 
but  doubtless  various  other  sorts  may  be  used.  The 
need  for  such  windbreaks  is  very  great,  hence  the  farmer 
should  try  and  make  ready  to  plant  a  windbreak  as 
soon  as  he  begins  work  on  his  farm. 

The  extent  to  which  forest  trees  will  be,  or  should 
be,  grown  in  the  semi-arid  country  will  depend  much  on 
the  precipitation.  That  some  of  these  may  be  grown  suc- 
cessfully under  very  dry  conditions  is  evidenced  in  the 
fact  that  nature  has  grown  them  unaided,  as  evidenced 
in  the  growth  of  such  species  as  the  yellow  pine  and  the 
red  cedar  where  the  rainfall  is  very  light.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  juniper.  It  would  not  seem  probable,  judg- 
ing by  the  indications  at  the  present  time,  that  forest 
trees  would  be  grown  for  lumber  to  any  considerable  ex- 
tent on  the  benches  of  the  semi-arid  country,  but  of 
course  what  the  future  may  bring  forth  cannot  now  be 
safely  forecasted.  Should  groves  be  planted,  however, 
the  aim  should  be  to  start  them  inside  of  a  windbreak. 

As  time  goes  on,  the  need  for  posts  to  aid  in  fenc- 
ing the  land  will  be  felt.  The  wise  farmer  will  set 
about  providing  for  it  at  an  early  date.  Where  the 
mountains  are  not  distant,  a  source  of  supply  will  be 
always  accessible.  Under  other  conditions,  fence  posts 
may  be  grown.  Among  the  trees  that  are  found  suitable 
are  the  willow,  the  catalpa  and  the  locust.  The  willow 
has  highest  adaptation  for  the  Great  Plains  country,  the 
catalpa  for  the  middle  regions  of  the  semi-arid  belt,  and 
the  locust  for  those  central  and  south.  All  these  will 
grow  more  slowly  than  in  humid  climates. 

Cultivated  crops  that  may  be  grown. — The  discus- 
sion will  include  the  following  classes  of  crops  that  may 
be  cultivated  with  more  or  less  profit  in  dry  areas:  (1) 
cereals;  (2)  fodder  crops;  (3)  legumes,  and  (4)  various 


212  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

other  crops.  These  may  be  cultivated  with  more  or  less 
profit.  Such  cultivation  will  prove  relatively  more  profit- 
able under  dry  than  under  humid  conditions,  and  chiefly 
because  of  the  influence  which  it  exercises  on  moisture 
conservation.  The  cultivation  has  reference  to  stirring 
the  soil  above  and  around  the  plants  as  shown  in  chapter 
XII,  the  implements  used  being  the  harrow  and  some 
form  of  cultivator. 

There  is  no  kind  of  cereal  grown  in  the  semi-arid 
country  that  will  not  be  profited  by  some  form  of  cul- 
tivation given  to  it  during  the  period  of  growth.  As 
a  rule  such  cultivation  will  be  given  to  cereals  included 
under  the  head  of  small  grains,  by  the  aid  of  the  harrow. 
More  commonly  these  are  sown  by  the  grain  drill  in 
the  ordinary  way  and  the  harrowing  is  done  chiefly  after 
the  crops  have  reached  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Plant- 
ing cereals  in  spaced  rows  has  been  tried,  that  is  in  rows 
wide  enough  to  admit  of  cultivating  between  them,  but 
the  results  obtained  do  not  seem  to  justify  the  expense 
of  such  cultivation.  This  at  least  is  true  of  the  increase 
that  such  cultivation  brings  to  the  crop.  It  is  doubtful, 
however,  in  such  instances,  if  a  sufficient  allowance  has 
been  made  for  the  influence  which  the  cultivation  given 
may  exert  on  the  next  crop.  Peas,  probably  more  than 
any  other  cereal,  have  been  thus  grown  in  spaced  rows, 
but  the  benefit  from  growing  them  thus  has  not  been 
determined  as  yet.  The  degree  of  the  harrowing  that  may 
be  given  to  cereals  is  discussed  elsewhere  (see  p.  156). 
For  the  place  for  these  crops,  see  pp.  390-399. 

With  fodder  crops  the  case  is  absolutely  clear.  Fod- 
der crops  as  used  here  means  the  coarse  fodders,  as  corn 
and  the  sorghums.  Cultivation  for  these  is  absolutely  in- 
dispensable. It  is  given  while  the  crop  has  not  yet  ap- 
peared, and  subsequently.  It  is  given  with  both  the 
harrow  and  the  ordinary  corn  cultivator  of  various 
makes,  and  it  is  continued  usually,  or  at  least  it  ought 


CROPS  THAT  MAY  BE  GROWN  IN  DRY  AREAS    213 

to  be,  until  the  crop  gets  too  far  advanced  to  admit  of 
cultivating  it  longer.  The  place  for  these  crops  has  al- 
ready been  referred  to  (see  p.  199). 

The  legumes  that  may  be  grown  are  included  in 
some  instances  in  the  crops  previously  discussed.  Al- 
falfa, for  instance,  is  included  in  the  list  of  the  hay 
plants  and  peas  in  that  of  the  small  grains.  To  these 
may  be  added  field  beans.  It  is  at  least  questionable  if 
alfalfa  will  be  grown  to  any  great  extent  in  spaced  rows 
and  cultivated  while  growing  in  order  to  furnish  hay, 
and  for  the  reason  that  it  can  be  grown  fairly  well  with- 
out such  cultivation.  But  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
it  will  be  grown  thus  for  seed.  The  extent  to  which  the 
seed  industry  may  yet  develop  from  seed  grown  on  these 
lines  cannot  safely  be  forecasted  at  the  present  time. 
That  the  crop  when  grown  for  hay  will  be  disced  more  or 
less  severely  every  year  when  sown  on  the  bench  lands, 
is  a  foregone  conclusion.  The  bean  crop,  which  may  be 
safely  grown  in  much  of  the  dry  area,  must  be  given  care- 
ful cultivation  wfyile  it  is  being  grown. 

Other  crops  that  call  for  cultivation  during  the 
growth  period  include  roots  and  tubers,  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, windbreaks  and  trees.  All  the  field  roots  grown 
must  be  grown  by  the  aid  of  cultivation,  save  in  such 
instances  as  when  the  seed  may  be  scattered  broadcast 
on  breaking.  The  same  is  true  of  potatoes  and  artichokes, 
save  when  potatoes  are  grown  on  breaking,  the  tubers 
being  dropped  beneath  the  proper  sod  furrow  while  the 
land  is  being  plowed.  The  aim  should  be,  however,  to 
avoid  growing  them  thus.  The  cultivation  of  fruit  will 
be  necessary  from  year  to  year  under  dry  land  conditions. 
Such  cultivation  will  probably  have  to  be  kept  up  as  long 
as  the  shrubs  and  trees  are  to  be  kept  in  bearing.  Of 
course  all  vegetables  will  call  for  cultivation.  The  same 
is  true  also  of  windbreaks  and  forest  trees.  The  culti- 
vation of  these  must  be  kept  up  until  the  leaves  will 
form  a  sufficient  mulch  to  adequately  protect  them. 


CHAPTER  XI 
GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

The  chief  of  the  small  grains  grown  in  Montana,  and 
in  fact  in  all  the  states  north  of  Salt  Lake  City,  include 
the  following:  Winter  and  spring  wheat,  winter  and 
spring  rye,  flax,  barley,  oats,  peas  and  speltz.  The  aim 
has  been  to  name  these  in  the  order  of  relative  importance 
viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  possible  profitable  pro- 
duction based  on  the  climate  and  soil  conditions.  But 
it  does  not  follow  that  the  relative  importance  thus  as- 
signed to  them  will  correspond  with  the  extent  to  which 
they  will  be  grown  by  the  farmer,  at  least  for  many  years 
to  come.  There  can  be  no  question,  however,  about  the 
place  that  shall  be  assigned  to  wheat  in  the  semi-arid 
region.  It  will  probably  continue  to  hold  the  premier 
place  among  the  revenue  producing  crops  on  the  unirri- 
gated  land  during  the  centuries  that  are  yet  to  be. 

GROWING  WHEAT,  WINTER  AND  SPRING 

While  both  winter  and  spring  wheat  may  and  will  be 
grown  on  the  lands  of  much  of  the  semi-arid  country,  win- 
ter wheat  will,  in  nearly  all  instances,  be  the  more  im- 
portant crop.  This  will  follow,  first,  from  the  fact  that  it 
will  produce  much  larger  yields  than  spring  wheat ;  such 
at  least  has  been  the  case  in  all  areas  practically  that  have 
been  found  favorable  to  the  growth  of  winter  wheat.  The 
difference  will  probably  be  not  less  than  50  per  cent,  in 
favor  of  winter  wheat  on  the  average.  It  will  follow, 
second,  from  the  fact  that  winter  wheat  will  mature  ear- 
lier than  spring  wheat  and  will,  therefore,  be  much  less 
injured  by  the  drought  and  heat  that  characterize  the 
summer  months.  It  will  follow,  third,  from  the  fact  that 
it  so  changes  the  time  of  the  sowing  and  the  reaping, 
that  the  farmer  can  grow  this  crop  without  adding  to  the 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        215 

expense  for  hired  labor.  The  adaptations  of  the  condi- 
tions for  growing  winter  wheat  successfully  in  the 
semi-arid  country  are  indeed  remarkable,  whether  the 
bulk  of  the  precipitation  comes  in  the  autumn  and  winter 
months  or  during  the  period  of  greatest  growth.  The 
winter  wheat  crop,  because  of  the  very  large  yields  that 
are  frequently  obtained,  will,  in  many  instances,  pay  for 
the  land  that  grew  it  in  a  single  crop.  This  does  not 
mean  that  spring  wheat  may  not  be  grown  with  much 


DRY    LAND  DURUM  WHEAT  GROWN  NEAR  GREAT  FALLS,  MONT 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

success  in  many  areas,  but  that  the  attention  should 
rather  be  centered  on  the  growing  of  winter  wheat  where 
it  may  be  grown  with  remarkable  success. 

Soils. — The  soils  of  the  larger  portions  of  the  arable 
farms  of  the  western  states  have  high  adaptation  for  the 
growth  of  winter  wheat.  They  are  exceedingly  rich  in 
the  mineral  constituents  that  favor  grain  production, 
they  may,  as  a  rule,  be  easily  penetrated  by  the  roots  of 
the  wheat  plants  and  they  very  readily  retain  moisture 


216  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

that  falls  when  properly  managed.  The  clay  loam  soils 
and  the  sandy  loam  soils  underlaid  with  clay,  and  the 
volcanic  ash  soils  of  the  farther  west,  have  very  high 
adaptation  for  growing  wheat  with  reference,  first,  to  the 
food  constituents  which  they  contain ;  second,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  easy  penetration  by  the  roots  of  plants;  and, 
third,  with  reference  to  their  ability  to  hold  moisture. 
The  proportion  of  the  arable  land  that  is  wrell  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  wheat  in  the  semi-arid  west  is  unusually 
large. 

Soils  that  are  unsuitable  for  wheat  include  alkali 
land,  light  coarse  sands  and  soils  that  lie  quite  near  the 
underlying  rock.  Alkali  lands  are  unsuitable  in  propor- 
tion to  the  alkali  and  the  degree  of  the  same.  Lands 
strongly  impregnated  with  black  alkali  are  wholly  un- 
suited  to  the  growth  of  wheat,  and  in  fact  all  other  crops, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  those  strongly  impregnated  with 
white  alkali.  But  small  amounts  of  the  latter  are  not 
seriously  prejudicial  if  indeed  prejudicial  at  all.  Light 
and  especially  coarse  sands  will  not  sufficiently  supply 
the  plants  with  food  and  moisture,  hence  the  yields  on 
these  will  be  small,  and  lands  underlaid  with  rock  near 
the  surface  will  not  sustain  good  growth  under  dry  con- 
ditions. 

Plafce  in  the  rotation. — In  dry  areas,  the  place  that 
wheat  will  occupy  in  the  rotation  will  depend  upon  many 
conditions,  such  as  the  amount  of  the  precipitation,  the 
degree  of  the  plant  food  in  the  soil  and  the  mechanical 
condition  of  the  same.  Where  the  precipitation  is  about 
20  inches,  wheat  crops  may  be  grown  from  year  to  year 
with  reasonable  success  on  many  western  soils  for  a  more 
or  less  limited  number  of  years.  The  duration  of  these 
is  proportional  to  the  amount  of  fertility  in  the  land. 
But  the  wisdom  of  such  a  rotation  after  two  or  three  or 
even  a  larger  number  of  crops  are  taken  in  succession 
after  breaking  the  land,  is  to  be  questioned,  because  of  the 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        217 

drain  on  the  fertility,  and  also  on  the  humus,  without 
any  replenishing  of  either  because  of  the  increase  in  weed 
life  which  is  sure  to  follow,  and  because  of  the  increase 
of  insect  life  and  of  fungous  diseases  that  invariably 
results.  When  the  precipitation  is  about  15  inches,  one 
crop  of  winter  wheat  may  be  grown  in  alternation  with 
summer-fallow  for  a  number  of  successive  years — how 
many,  will  depend  on  the  store  of  plant  food  in  the  soil. 
The  increase  of  weed  and  insect  life  should  not  obtain  in 
this  case,  as  in  the  former,  but  it  depletes  fertility  and 
humus  very  materially,  and  because  of  this  it  is  not  to  be 
commended,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  for  several 
years  there  may  be  no  diminution  in  the  yields. 

The  aim  should  be  therefore,  in  dry  areas,  to  make 
winter  wheat  follow  the  bare-fallow  or  a  cultivated  crop, 
as  corn,  the  wheat  being  drilled  in  between  the  corn  rows 
in  order  to  get  it  sown  in  season.  In  areas  where  the  win- 
ters are  cold,  the  winter  wheat  must  have  protection,  as 
in  the  Dakotas.  In  such  areas  it  may  follow:  (1)  on  the 
summer-fallow  on  which  a  small  amount  of  corn  has  been 
drilled  very  late  and  left  uncut  to  furnish  protection ;  (2) 
between  standing  corn  which  is  cut  later,  a  few  rows  of 
bare  stalks  being  left  standing  every  few  rods  to  furnish 
protection;  (3)  amid  the  stalks  of  some  dwarfish  kind 
of  corn  from  which  the  ears  have  been  removed  in  some 
way,  and  (4)  when  drilled  in  amid  the  stubbles,  prefer- 
ably of  a  barley  crop  because  of  the  early  harvesting  of 
the  same.  Winter  wheat  is  sometimes  grown  after  a 
crop  of  winter  wheat  or  other  small  grain,  the  land  being 
plowed  or  disced.  The  practise  is  not  a  good  one.  If 
the  autumn  is  dry,  the  crop  will  fail  for  lack  of  proper 
germination.  Spring  wheat  should  as  a  rule  be  grown  on 
fallow  land  or  on  land  that  has  produced  a  cultivated 
crop.  It  will  follow  a  cultivated  crop  more  frequently 
than  winter  wheat,  as  the  cultivated  crop  is  not  har- 


218  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

vested  sufficiently  early  to  admit  of  following  with  winter 
wheat.  :  -^|f] 

The  wheat  crop  should  be  followed  by  summer-fal- 
low or  by  a  cultivated  crop  where  the  rainfall  is  not  more 
than  15  inches.  Where  the  rainfall  is  less  than  15  inches, 
a  grain  crop  may  succeed  but  it  may  also  fail,  dependent 
on  the  character  of  the  season.  The  cultivated  crop 
that  follows  will  more  probably  be  corn  because  of  the 
extent  to  which  that  crop  will  be  grown,  but  any  annual 
crop  that  is  cultivated  will  suffice.  Where  the  rainfall 
is  more  than  15  inches  it  may  be  in  order  to  grow  two 
crops  of  grain  in  succession,  especially  after  land  that 
has  been  fallowed,  but  it  is  better  to  make  the  second 
some  crop  other  than  wheat. 

The  aim  should  be  to  avoid  growing  wheat  after 
wheat  in.  immediate  succession,  but  it  may  be  allowable 
under  the  following  conditions:  (1)  Where  the  rainfall  is 
between  15  and  20  inches  per  year  while  the  land  is  yet 
new ;  (2)  where  the  land  is  summer-fallowed  every  other 
year  while  the  soil  is  yet  new,  and  well  stocked  with 
plant  food  and  humus ;  (3)  where  wheat  and  corn  are 
grown  in  alternation  for  a  number  of  years ;  (4)  when  a 
second  crop  is  taken  from  land  that  has  been  summer- 
fallowed  without  re-plowing  for  the  same.  But  in  all 
instances  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  modify  these  ro- 
tations after  the  land  has  been  cropped  for  a  number  of 
years.  In  dry  areas  wheat  should  not  be  made  to  follow 
other  grain  crops. 

Preparing  the  soil. — In  dry  areas  the  land  is  more 
frequently  prepared  for  growing  wheat  by  what  is  known 
as  the  summer-fallowing  plan.  It  will  also  be  much 
grown  in  the  near  future  after  a  cultivated  crop,  espe- 
cially after  corn.  But  it  will  also  be  grown  more  or 
less  by  methods  that  are  hazardous.  These  will  be 
considered. 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        219 

Land  that  is  summer-fallowed  will  consist  of  break- 
ing or  of  land  that  has  been  previously  cropped.  The 
method  of  handling  is  practically  the  same,  and  it  is 
in  outline  as  follows:  It  should  be  plowed  when  it 
has  the  largest  amount  of  moisture  in  it.  This,  in  the 
Plains  country  and  in  the  prairies  northward,  will  occur 
between  the  opening  of  spring,  and,  say,  the  first  of 
July.  June  is  the  favorite  month  in  which  to  do  the 
plowing,  as  then  the  soil  will  probably  have  the  largest 
amount  of  moisture  in  it,  and  in  that  month  the  farmers 
have  time  for  such  work.  Where  the  precipitation  falls 
in  the  late  autumn  and  winter,  the  plowing  should  be 
done  as  soon  as  the  moistened  soil  conditions  will  admit 
of  doing  the  work. 

The  plowing  should  be  deep  on  nearly  all  kinds  of 
soil.  The  exceptions  are  light,  sandy  soils,  and  shallow 
soils  underlaid  with  unresponsive  subsoil.  Such  plow- 
ing may  be  costly  at  the  first,  but  in  the  lapse  of  years 
the  extra  cost  will  be  more  than  repaid. 

When  the  land  is  thus  plowed  in  the  Plains  region, 
it  should  at  once  be  compressed,  preferably  the  day  that 
it  is  plowed.  The  objects  sought  in  thus  compressing 
it  are,  first,  to  so  smooth  and  firm  the  surface  that  the 
implements  of  tillage  that  are  to  follow,  especially  the 
harrow,  will  do  more  effective  work,  and,  second,  to  press 
the  loosened  soil  so  that  the  air  and  sun  will  not  draw 
moisture  so  readily  from  the  soil.  But  in  areas  where 
the  precipitation  comes  mainly  in  the  winter,  such  com- 
pression may  under  some  conditions  prove  detrimental 
on  certain  soils.  The  aim  in  plowing  these  thus  early  is 
to  allow  moisture  to  penetrate  them  easily  at  a  season 
of  the  year  when  the  moisture  is  but  little  drawn  from 
the  soil. 

The  implements  that  will  best  serve  these  ends  will 
depend,  to  a  very  considerable  degree,  on  the  character 
and  condition  of  the  soil.  In  some  instances  the  smooth 


220  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

roller  will  do  effective  work,  especially  in  compressing 
newly  broken  sod.  One  objection  to  the  smooth  roller 
is  that,  while  it  firms  the  soil  above,  it  leaves  it  uncom- 
pressed below.  The  corrugated  roller  will  aid  more  in 
crushing  lumps  than  the  smooth  roller  where  these  oc- 
cur. The  planker  will  aid  in  levelling  up  the  soil  where 
this  may  be  necessary,  in  powdering  lumps,  and  in 
compressing  the  soil,  but  the  compression  is  on  and  near 
the  surface  as  in  the  case  of  the  roller.  On  stubble  land 
the  subsurface  packer  should  do  good  work,  as  it  firms 
the  soil  below.  On  breaking  and  sod  land  generally,  the 
disc  does  very  good  work  when  rightly  used,  and  in  the 
absence  of  a  better  implement  it  may  also  be  used  to 
compress  stubble  land. 

The  next  operation  is  harrowing  with  the  straight 
tooth  harrow,  the  object  being  to  form  a  dust  mulch 
on  the  surface  of  the  soil  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
moisture  that  is  continually  moving  toward  the  sur- 
face, save  when  it  has  enough  water  in  it  to  result  in  a 
downward  movement  of  the  same.  This  dust  mulch  must 
be  maintained  through  the  season,  chiefly,  if  not  en- 
tirely, through  the  use  of  the  ordinary  harrow.  The 
necessity  for  renewing  the  mulch  will  depend  to  a  con- 
siderable degree  on  the  frequency  with  which  the  summer 
rain  falls,  and  also  on  the  nature  of  the  soil.  The  more 
frequently  that  rain  falls  on  fallow  land,  and  the  greater 
the  tendency  to  encrustation,  the  greater  is  the  necessity 
for  frequently  renewing  the  dust  mulch.  When  encrusta- 
tion follows,  as  it  does  usually  after  every  considerable 
rain,  the  crust  forms  cracks  in  drying,  and  through  the 
openings  thus  made  the  moisture  will  rapidly  escape. 
The  remedy  consists  in  running  the  harrow  over  the 
ground  promptly,  as  soon  as  it  has  become  dry  enough 
to  admit  of  doing  the  work  effectively  and  without  any 
injury  to  the  land.  It  is  not  necessary  to  use  the  har- 
row thus  after  every  little  shower  that  falls.  Should 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        221 

light  showers  fall  frequently  and  at  short  intervals,  the 
land  will  not  form  cracks  or  openings  so  numerously  as 
after  a  heavy  rain. 

The  fallow  land  must  also  be  kept  clean.  This  is 
imperative,  as  in  proportion  to  the  extent  to  which 
weeds  grow  on  the  land,  just  in  that  proportion  will 
moisture  be  taken  from  the  soil.  Weeds  will  draw  on 
moisture  more  heavily  than  grain  plants  because  of  their 
stronger  inherent  powers  of  growth.  Should  moisture 
be  conserved  during  the  early  part  of  the  fallowing  proc- 
ess, and  weeds  are  then  allowed  later  to  grow  on  the 
same,  the  weeds  will  remove  the  moisture  thus  conserved, 
and  will  thus  so  far  undo  what  has  been  done.  To  pre- 
vent such  a  result,  it  may  be  necessary  to  use  the  nar- 
row more  frequently  than  would  be  necessary  for  renew- 
ing the  dust  mulch  to.  prevent  the  escape  of  moisture. 
Annual  and  biennial  weeds  may  be  most  easily  destroyed 
when  they  are  just  beginning  to  grow.  But  the  use  of 
other  implements  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  destroy 
perennial  weeds  and  volunteer  grains  that  have  become 
deeply  rooted  (see  p.  120). 

When  the  bare-fallow  has  been  managed  thus,  in 
nearly  all  instances,  there  will  be  moisture  enough  in  the 
same  to  germinate  winter  wheat  when  sown  on  fallow 
land,  even  in  very  dry  seasons.  But  to  this  there  may  be 
some  exceptions,  as  when  the  ground  is  lacking  in  mois- 
ture in  the  spring  when  it  is  plowed,  and  when  no  mois- 
ture virtually  falls  on  it  subsequently.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  fallow  land  in  the  spring  and  autumn  of 
1910.  In  numerous  instances,  when  the  winter  wheat 
was  planted  it  did  not  germinate.  But  this  will  seldom 
occur. 

When  wheat  follows  a  cultivated  crop,  the  treatment 
of  the  land  that  is  best  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  culti- 
vated crop  will  also  be  best  suited  to  the  needs  of  the 
wheat  crop  that  follows.  The  cultivated  crop  that  may  be 


222 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


thus  grown  will  include  corn,  potatoes,  field  roots  and 
beans,  and  in  some  instances  peas,  more  especially  of  the 
dwarfish  varieties.  When  a  cultivated  crop  is  grown  on 
land,  and  when  the  work  is  rightly  done,  the  land  has  been 
virtually  summer-fallowed.  The  objects  sought  in  the 
cultivation  are  virtually  the  same,  viz.,  to  prevent  the  es- 
cape of  moisture,  and  also  the  growth  of  weeds.  The  crop 


DRY  LAND  KUBANKA  WHEAT,  FERGUS  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

thus  cultivated  during  the  process  of  growth  draws  on  the 
soil  moisture  in  proportion  to  its  needs.  This  drain  may 
be  considerable,  especially  when  the  growth  is  strong. 
The  soil  moisture  will,  therefore,  be  reduced  by  the  amount 
thus  used,  hence  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  soil 
which  has  produced  a  cultivated  crop  will  contain  a 
less  amount  of  moisture  than  summer-fallowed  land 
alongside  of  it.  But  experience  has  shown  that  where 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        223 

the  rainfall  averages  15  inches  per  annum  the  soil  will 
contain  enough  moisture  after  a  cultivated  crop  to  pro- 
duce a  reasonable  crop  of  wheat  or  other  small  grain, 
even  in  a  very  dry  season.  The  average  annual  precipi- 
tation that  is  necessary  to  insure  a  profitable  return  in 
wheat  or  other  small  grain  after  a  cultivated  crop  has 
not  yet  been  determined.  Of  course  it  can  only  be  de- 
termined approximately,  but  on  many  soils  it  would  seem 
safe  to  say  that  such  a  result  may  be  looked  for  where  the 
annual  precipitation  is  even  less  than  15  inches,  as  low 
probably  as  12  to  13  inches. 

Sowing. — The  following  methods  of  sowing  winter 
wheat  are  somewhat  hazardous,  notwithstanding  that 
they  are  frequently  tried  in  the  semi-arid  belt:  (1)  Sow- 
ing on  plowed  or  disced  land  after  a  crop  of  small  grain ; 
(2)  sowing  amid  the  stubbles  without  plowing;  (3) 
sowing  very  late  in  seasons  when  moisture  is  much 
deficient  in  the  land. 

In  the  coldest  portions  of  the  dry  belt,  as  the  Dakotas 
and  portions  of  Canada,  wheat  cannot  be  depended  on 
to  pass  the  winter  safely  on  stubble  land,  either  disced  or 
plowed.  In  areas  less  cold  it  may  not  germinate  prop- 
erly, nor  indeed  at  all,  before  the  following  spring.  Of 
course,  if  the  ground  is  moist  when  the  seed  is  sown,  it 
may  produce  a  good  crop,  but  this  seldom  happens.  The 
practise  is  defended  on  the  ground  that  though  the 
seed  should  not  germinate  properly  the  only  loss  is  the 
seed,  which  is  usually  not  more  than  three  pecks  per 
acre,  and  the  labor  of  sowing  it.  In  this  justification 
there  is  some  force,  and  yet  the  practise  is  hazardous. 

When  wheat  is  drilled  in  amid  the  stubbles  after 
the  grain  has  been  cut,  a  reasonably  good  crop  is  some- 
times secured  even  in  the  colder  portions  of  the  semi- 
arid  belt,  but  the  hazard  is  present,  first,  that  the  seed 
may  not  germinate  sufficiently  early  in  the  autumn  be- 
cause of  the  lack  of  moisture,  and,  second,  that  the 


224  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

yield  will  be  small  should  a  dry  season  follow,  because  of 
lack  of  sufficiently  vigorous  growth.  The  object  sought 
in  planting  wheat  thus  is  to  insure  protection  for  the 
plants  in  winter  through  the  holding  of  the  snow,  and 
by  the  breaking  of  the  force  of  the  cold  winds  because 
of  the  presence  of  the  stubbles.  When  winter  wheat  is 
thus  sown  the  ground  should  not  be  disced  previously  to 
the  sowing,  as  this  would  to  a  considerable  degree  re- 
move the  protection  from  the  plants.  The  land  should 
also  be  free  from  weed  life,  else  the  weeds  will  crowd 
the  next  season.  Barley  stubble  is  usually  preferred  for 
such  sowing,  as  the  crop  may  be  removed  early  to  admit 
of  sowing  the  wheat  early. 

Winter  wheat  may  be  sown  so  late  in  some  localities 
that  it  will  not  germinate  before  the  advent  of  winter. 
Reasonably  good  crops  may  be  obtained  in  this  way, 
but  they  seldom  or  never  equal  those  crops  that  are  sown 
in  season.  This  method  of  sowing  can  only  be  made  to 
succeed  where  the  winters  are  not  severe,  and  even  in 
these  it  is  not  to  be  commended.  There  is  the  hazard  that 
germination  will  be  imperfect  and  the  plants  begin  to 
grow  so  late  that  they  have  but  little  advantage  over 
spring  wheat  plants  as  to  the  time  of  maturing.  Should 
the  seed  not  germinate  until  the  arrival  of  warm  weather 
in  the  spring  it  is  not  likely  that  it  will  reach  the  heading 
out  stage.  The  time  beyond  which  late  germination  will 
fail  to  produce  heads  has  not  as  yet  been  well  defined. 

Where  the  conditions  are  suitable  winter  wheat  is 
to  be  preferred  to  spring  wheat  for  reasons  already  given. 
The  winter  cold  of  the  Dakotas,  and  of  the  portions  of 
Manitoba  and  Saskatchewan  included  in  the  dry  belt, 
makes  the  growing  of  winter  wheat  considerably  more 
hazardous  than  that  of  spring  wheat.  In  nearly  all  of 
the  remaining  portions  of  the  semi-arid  country,  the  con- 
ditions are  more  favorable  to  the  growth  of  winter  wheat, 
and  more  especially  where  the  larger  portion  of  the 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        225 

precipitation  falls  in  the  winter  and  early  spring.  Where 
the  two  crops  grow  about  equally  well,  the  greater  haz- 
ard to  spring  wheat  of  injury  from  drought  is  probably 
more  than  offset  by  the  hazard  to  winter  wheat  which 
may  result:  (1)  from  germination  started  but  not  com- 
pleted ;  (2)  from  alternate  thawing  and  freezing  which 
in  some  localities  may  do  harm  where  the  winter  precipi- 
tation is  considerable;  (3)  from  drying  winter  winds 
accompanied  by  protracted  periods  of  severe  cold. 

In  the  semi-arid  areas  hard  and  semi-hard  wheats  of 
both  winter  and  spring  varieties  are  chiefly  grown.  The 
growth  of  the  latter,  all  of  which  incline  to  softness  and 
starchiness  of  varying  degrees,  is  chiefly  confined  to 
Inter-mountain,  areas.  They  are  being  superseded  with 
more  or  less  quickness  by  the  hard  wheats,  because  of 
the  superior  milling  qualities  of  the  latter. 

The  variety  of  hard  winter  wheat  most  in  favor  is 
the  Turkey  Red,  south  Russian  in  its  origin,  and  the 
Kharkow  or  Kharkov,  not  greatly  dissimilar.  The 
Turkey  Red  is  hardy,  yields  well,  and  is  of  high  gluten 
content.  It  is  now  being  grown  in  all  the  Great  Plains 
country  that  is  not  too  cold  for  the  successful  growth 
of  winter  wheat.  It  is  probable  that  these  varieties  will 
yet  displace  to  a  very  considerable  extent  the  semi-hard 
wheats  of  the  Inter-mountain  states.  The  principal 
varieties  of  the  latter  are  of  the  Defiance  type,  but  va- 
rious other  varieties  are  still  much  grown.  In  eastern 
Washington  and  Idaho  the  Palouse  Blue  Stem,  the  Forty 
Fold  and  Red  Russian  are  popular.  In  eastern  Oregon 
the  Red  Chaff  and  Foise  are  in  favor.  In  California  and 
other  southwestern  states  the  Little  Club  and  Defiance 
are  much  grown. 

The  spring  wheats  most  in  favor  in  the  more  humid 
portions  of  the  dry  areas  are  Red  Fife  and  Blue  Stem, 
which  are  in  high  favor  in  the  Dakotas  and  in  Manitoba 
and  Saskatchewan.  They  are  of  excellent  milling  quali- 


226  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ty,  but  they  do  not  grow  under  very  dry  conditions  as 
well  as  the  Durum  varieties.  The  latter  are  resistant 
to  drought  in  a  marked  degree  and  they  also  yield 
relatively  well,  hence  they  will  be  much  grown  in  the 
more  dry  portions  of  the  semi-arid  areas.  They  are 
less  high  in  favor  for  milling  than  the  Turkey  Red,  the 
Red  Fife  and  the  Blue  Stem,  and  consequently  do  not 
bring  so  high  a  price.  The  Kubanka  is  the  favorite  Durum 


DRY  LAND  DURUM  WHEAT,  CASCADE  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

wheat.     In  dry  areas  Durum  wheats  yield  much  better 
than  other  spring  wheats  as  a  rule. 

In  Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho,  Utah  and  states  of 
the  southwest,  club  or  square  headed  wheats  are  much 
grown,  and  for  the  reason  that  they  do  not  shatter  readily 
when  ripe.  Because  of  this  quality  they  are  well  suited -to 
being  harvested  in  a  large  way  by  headers  and  combined 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        227 

machines  which  head  and  thresh  the  grain  in  one  oper- 
ation. The  Polish  and  Macaroni  wheats,  being  drought- 
resistant  and  good  yielders,  are  in  some  instances  grown 
for  feed. 

The  time  to  sow  winter  wheat  is  influenced  by  lati- 
tude and  altitude.  The  difference  between  the  best 
season  for  sowing  the  crop  in  the  extreme  northern  area 
of  the  wheat  belt  and  the  extreme  southern  is  more  than 
a  month.  In  the  northern  areas  winter  wheat  must  be 
sown  earlier  and  spring  wheat  later  by  the  difference 
mentioned.  In  these  areas  August  is  the  favorite  month 
for  sowing  winter  wheat ;  in  central  areas  September  and 
in  southern  areas  October.  Sowing  thus  early  gives  the 
plants  stronger  and  deeper  root  growth,  which  enables 
them  better  to  withstand  winter  weather,  and  it  gives 
stronger  top  growth,  which  furnishes  better  winter  pro- 
tection. In  southern  Alberta  and  in  some  parts  of  north- 
ern Montana,  wheat  is  sometimes  sown  in  July,  but  sow- 
ing thus  early  may  tend  in  some  instances  to  incur  the 
hazard,  first,  of  infection  by  the  Hessian  fly,  and,  second, 
of  drawing  so  much  on  the  powers  of  the  plant  that 
growth  the  next  year  will  not  be  sufficiently  vigorous. 
This  to  some  extent  may  be  checked  by  grazing.  Early 
planting  is  usually  to  be  preferred,  as  it  may  prevent 
loss  by  drought  in  the  later  fall,  heaving  by  frost,  and 
drying  out  and  perishing  by  cold. 

Generally  speaking,  spring  wheat  may  be  sown  as 
soon  as  the 'ground  is  fit  for  cultivation  in  the  spring. 
This  may  not  always  apply  where  the  winters  are  char- 
acterized by  warm  spells,  followed  by  severe  freezing 
weather.  About  parallel  49  wheat  sowing  is  usually  done 
in  the  latter  half  of  April,  though  in  some  instances  it  is 
sown  earlier.  Where  the  frost  goes  deeply  into  the  soil, 
sowing  on  autumn-plowed  land  may  frequently  begin 
while  the  frost  is  not  yet  melted  far  down  below  the 
seed  bed. 


228  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Sowing  wheat  on  the  broadcast  plan  should  never 
be  attempted  in  dry  areas  where  it  can  be  avoided. 
It  is  impossible  to  bury  the  seed  so  that  the  germination 
will  be  even  and  complete.  In  humid  areas  such  sowing 
is  attended  with  much  less  hazard.  Sowing  with  the  drill 
has  the  following  advantages :  (1)  The  seed  is  distributed 
uniformly  and  is  buried  at  an  even  depth.  (2)  It  may 
usually  be  sown  where  the  soil  is  sufficiently  moist  to 
insure  germination.  This  may  not  be  possible  in  many 
instances  with  much  of  the  seed  sown  on  the  broadcast 
plan.  (3)  The  pressing  of  the  soil  around  the  seed,  which 
is  favorable  to  quick  germination.  (4)  A  saving  in  the 
amount  of  seed  called  for.  This  saving  is  probably  not 
less  than  one  peck  per  acre.  (5)  Burying  the  plants  so 
deeply  that  they  may  be  harrowed  at  certain  stages  of 
growth  without  the  hazard  of  taking  many  of  them  out. 

There  may  also  be  the  advantage  in  some  instances 
of  protection  in  winter  through  the  depression  made  by 
the  drill  marks.  To  some  extent  these  tend  to  shield 
the  plants  from  winds  and  to  cover  them  with  snow. 

In  nearly  all  soils  the  press  drill  is  a  favorite  in 
dry  areas  but  there  may  be  conditions  when  the  shoe 
drill  may  answer  better.  The  size  of  the  drill  may  be 
suited,  of  course,  to  the  needs  of  the  farm.  When 
the  wheat  is  sown  amid  standing  corn  of  normal  size, 
it  is  put  in  with  a  small  seeder  drawn  by  one  horse 
which  runs  between  the  rows.  The  large  drijl  is  used  for 
sowing  the  crop  amid  corn  stalks  of  some  low  growing 
varieties  which  are  not  to  be  removed  but  from  which 
the  ears  have  been  taken. 

The  depth  of  planting  depends  on  the  kind  of  soil, 
its  physical  condition,  and  its  moisture  content.  The 
more  sandy  the  soil,  the  looser  it  is,  and  the  farther  from 
the  surface  that  the  moisture  is  the  more  deeply  may 
the  seed  be  planted. 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        229 

When  the  moisture  is  sufficient  at  the  time  of  sowing 
the  seed,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  advantage  from 
sowing  it  more  deeply  than  2  to  3  inches.  But  when  mois- 
ture is  lower  down,  winter  wheat  especially  may  be  put 
down  3  to  4  inches  in  order  to  reach  it.  Fairly  deep 
sowing  tends  to  aid  the  plants  in  severe  winter  weather 
and  also  in  time  of  drought. 

The  quantity  of  seed  to  sow  varies  with  the  soil,  the 
time  of  seeding,  the  variety  and  the  climatic  conditions.  A 
good  soil,  under  dry  conditions,  can  take  more  seed  than 
would  be  suitable  for  a  poor  soil.  Late  sowing  calls 
for  more  seed  than  early  sowing,  as  the  plants  stool  less. 
The  large  wheats  call  for  more  than  the  small  ones.  The 
more  moisture  that  the  soil  contains,  the  thicker  may 
be  the  seeding.  It  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  about 
half  the  amounts  of  seed  called  for  in  humid  areas  will 
suffice  for  dry  areas.  When  the  plants  are  present  in  too 
large  numbers,  there  is  not  enough  moisture  in  the  soil 
to  meet  their  needs.  They  will  be  dwarfed  in  their 
growth.  The  heads  will  be  unduly  small,  nor  will  the 
grains  in  them  be  of  normal  size.  Early  in  the  season 
the  thicker  stand  will  be  the  more  promising,  but  this 
condition  will  probably  be  reversed  at  harvest  time. 
The  plants  of  a  thin  stand  will  stool  more  than  those  of 
a  thick  stand.  Ordinarily  with  a  rainfall  averaging  15 
inches,  3  pecks  of  the  small  grained  wheats  will  suffice 
per  acre  when  sown  on  good  land.  Of  the  larger  grained 
wheats,  as  the  Macaroni,  4  pecks  may  be  needed.  Where 
the  rainfall  is  much  less  than  15  inches,  the  seed  may  be 
reduced  by,  say,  one-half  peck.  Where  the  rainfall  is 
not  more  than  10  inches,  one-half  bushel  may  suffice. 
Some  authorities  recommend  sowing  very  small  quanti- 
ties of  seed,  as  low  as  20  to  30  pounds  per  acre.  Such 
small  amounts  would  seem  to  be  too  low  for  average 
conditions.  Jt  is  safer  to  err  in  sowing  too  much  seed 
than  in  sowing  too  little,  as  when  the  plants  are  in  ex- 


230 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


cess  their  numbers  may  be  reduced  by  the  aid  of  the 
harrow  to  any  thickness  of  stand  that  may  be  desired. 

Care  during  growth. — Under  some  conditions  no 
further  care  of  the  crop  may  be  necessary  from  the 
time  that  it  is  sowed  until  it  is  reaped.  Under  other 


DRY  LAND  WHEAT,  50  BUSHELS  PER    ACRE. 

Holier  Ranch,  Lewis  and  Clark  County,  Montana. 

Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

conditions  it  may  be  more  or  less  advantageous  to  har- 
row the  crop  after  it  has  begun  to  grow.  In  other  in- 
stances it  may  be  advantageous  to  use  the  roller,  and  yet 
again  it  is  considered  helpful  to  the  crop  to  graze  it  off 
in  the  autumn  when  the  top  growth  is  over-rank  and 
strong. 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        231 

In  the  autumn  when  moisture  is  sufficiently  present, 
and  when  the  soil  does  not  encrust,  it  may  not  be  neces- 
sary to  use  the  harrow  or  the  roller  on  the  crop  at  that 
season.  Oftentimes  either  implement  is  so  used,  but  in 
instances  not  a  few  it  will  be  found  advantageous  to 
use  the  harrow  when  the  grain  plants  begin  to  show. 
One  objection  to  autumn  harrowing  is  found  in  the  oblit- 
eration of  the  depressions  made  by  the  grain  drill,  which 
to  some  extent  may  increase  the  hazard  to  the  plants 
from  winter  exposure.  In  the  spring  there  is  a  decided 
tendency  to  encrustation  in  much  of  the  soil  of  the  west 
that  has  been  sown  to  winter  wheat.  The  crust  formed 
must  be  broken  to  prevent  the  escape  of  moisture,  to  fur- 
nish the  necessary  aeration  and  to  accelerate  the  forma- 
tion of  nitrates.  Usually  the  best  implement  to  use  in 
order  lo  accomplish  these  ends  is  the  harrow.  The  time 
and  manner  of  the  first  harrowing  will  depend  somewhat 
on  the  strength  of  the  grain,  the  character  of  the  soil,  and 
the  degree  of  the  encrustation.  If  the  grain  plants  are 
small  and  delicate  the  harrow  used  must  be  light,  so  as 
not  to  bury  or  tear  out  the  plants.  If  the  soil  is  loose  and 
not  impacted,  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  use  the  harrow. 
If  the  soil  is  very  compact  and  much  encrusted,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  use  a  heavy  harrow,  the  teeth  being  erect  and 
the  harrow  weighted;  and  there  may  be  instances  in 
which  the  disc  rightly  used  or  the  alfalfa  renovator  will 
render  better  service.  Instances  are  on  record  in  which 
winter  wheat  has  been  severely  disced  with  positive  ad- 
vantage to  the  crop.  The  encrustation  must  be  removed 
if  the  crop  is  to  make  a  sufficient  growth.  This  work 
should  be  done  as  early  in  the  spring  as  it  may  be  done 
without  injury  to  the  land.  Proper  stirring  of  the  surface 
at  the  right  time  may  prevent  such  encrustation.  The 
subsequent  harrowings  called  for  will  be  largely  depend- 
ent on  weather  conditions.  Some  seasons  one  harrow- 
ing may  suffice.  At  other  times  the  crop  may  profit  from 


232  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

several^  harrowings.  Wheat  has  been  harrowed  with 
profit  when  it  has  reached  the  height  of  one  foot,  but 
harrowing  at  a  stage  of  growth  thus  advanced  is  seldom 
necessary. 

The  number  of  the  harrowings  called  for  by  spring 
wheat  may  run  from  none  at  all  to  fewer  than  four  or 
five,  but  under  what  may  be  termed  normal  conditions, 
it  will  seldom  be  necessary  to  harrow  more  frequently 
than  two  or  three  times.  In  many  soils  the  weeder  may 


DRY  LAND  HEADED  WHEAT. 

Culver-Opal  City  District,  Oregon. 

Courtesy  Nofthern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

do  more  effective  work  than  the  harrow,  especially  when 
these  are  very  loose,  but  when  on  impacted  soils  the 
weeder  will  be  found  of  but  little  use. 

Should  the  soil  encrust  in  the  autumn,  it  may  be  ad- 
vantageous to  use  on  it  a  corrugated  roller  instead  of 
a  harrow,  more  especially  when  the  soil  calls  for  firming 
below.  But  it  will  seldom  be  advantageous  to  use  this 
implement  in  preference  to  the  harrow  on  spring  wheat 
or  other  grain  sown  on  autumn-plowed  land. 

The  extent  to  which  winter  wheat  may  be  pastured 
in  dry  areas  will  depend:  (1)  on  the  severity  or  lack  of 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        233 

severity  in  the  winter  weather:  (2)  on  the  advance- 
ment of  the  grain  as  the  result  of  early  sowing,  and  (3) 
on  the  amount  of  the  rain  that  falls  in  the  autumn  months 
and  the  period  covered  by  such  rainfall.  Where  the 
autumns  are  short  and  dry  and  the  winters  are  long 
and  severe,  winter  wheat  should  seldom  or  never  be  pas- 
tured, as  pasturing  will  remove  the  covering  which  the 
top  growth  would  otherwise  furnish.  In  other  words, 
the  aim  should  be  to  avoid  the  necessity  for  pasturing 
winter  wheat  in  areas  where  protection  for  the  crop  is  in 
a  sense  a  necessity.  When  the  crop  is  sown  quite  early, 
as  early  as  July  or  early  August,  in  seasons  of  more  than 
the  usual  amount  of  precipitation,  the  growth  may  be- 
come so  advanced  that  grazing  will  be  advantageous  to 
the  crop.  In  some  areas,  as,  for  instance,  the  Flathead 
valley  in  Montana,  where  the  autumns  are  long  and  moist, 
the  preceding  summer  weather  being  usually  dry,  the 
grazing  of  winter  wheat  is  regularly  practised.  It  is  fol- 
lowed, in  part  at  least,  to  obtain  a  source  of  autumn  pas- 
ture, which  from  other  sources  is  usually  in  short  supply. 
The  profit  from  such  grazing,  though  apparently  seldom 
challenged,  is  more  or  less  problematical  as  far  as  the 
author  has  been  able  to  ascertain.  No  experiments  have 
been  conducted  to  test  the  influence  of  such  depasturing 
on  the  yields  of  the  crop,  nor  have  any  been  conducted 
to  throw  light  on  the  question  as  to  the  best  season  for 
grazing  the  same.  When  the  winters  are  mild  and  the 
precipitation  is  considerable  at  that  season,  care  must 
be  taken  to  avoid  grazing  should  the  soil  be  unduly  wet. 
Harvesting. — As  far  as  practicable,  the  crop  should 
be  harvested  at  an  early  rather  than  a  late  stage  of 
ripening  in  order  to  prevent  shelling  in  the  grain.  This 
does  not  apply  equally  to  the  club  varieties  of  wheat,  as 
these  do  not  shell  readily.  But  it  does  apply  to  such 
varieties  as  the  Turkey  Red,  and  wheat  of  the  Durum 
types.  The  loss  from  these  through  shelling  as  a  result 


234  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

of  being  whipped  about  by  the  winds  after  reaching  ma- 
turity may  be  material.  Such  loss  is  increased  by  the 
plumpness  of  the  grain,  which  favors  loss  from  the  source 
named.  The  more  plump  the  grain,  the  more  readily  does 
it  shell.  Wheat  is  ready  for  being  harvested  when  the 
stem  has  turned  yellow  for  a  few  inches  below  the  head. 
The  culms  will  at  the  same  time  have  assumed  a  yellow 
tint  for  several  inches  from  the  ground  upward,  not- 
withstanding that  the  other  portion  of  the  stem  may  be 
still  green.  A  few  days  delay  in  cutting  may  result  in 
very  serious  loss  through  shelling,  but  this  does  not 
apply  to  the  club  or  square-head  varieties. 

Except  when  grown  in  very  large  areas,  wheat  is 
harvested  with  the  grain  binder,  stood  up  more  com- 
monly in  round  rather  than  in  oblong  shocks,  and 
threshed  from  the  shock.  In  dry  areas  wheat  is  not  com- 
monly stacked,  as  rains  during  the  harvest  season  are 
almost  unknown.  Shocks  well  made  will  usually  stand 
for  several  weeks  without  injury,  save  what  may  come 
through  birds  and  rodents. 

When  grown  in  a  large  way  in  the  dry  west,  wheat 
is  harvested,  in  many  instances,  by  the  aid  of  the  header. 
This  machine  cuts  off  and  gathers  the  heads  without  re- 
moving the  straw.  The  heads  are  thrown  into  heaps 
until  they  can  be  threshed.  Should  rain  fall  before  the 
time  of  threshing,  the  grain  may  be  seriously  damaged, 
but  this  very  seldom  happens.  This  method  of  harvest- 
ing, which  is  relatively  cheap  and  very  expeditious,  is  al- 
most universal  where  the  club  varieties  of  grain  are 
grown  in  a  large  way.  But  when  the  grain  is  very  short 
it  may  leave  many  heads  ungathered. 

Where  very  large  areas  are  grown,  the  crop  is  some- 
times harvested  by  using  the  combined  header  and 
thresher.  This  machine,  which  is,  in  some  instances, 
drawn  by  25  to  30  head  of  horses  or  mules,  or  both, 
heads  the  grain  and  threshes  it  in  the  one  operation.  It 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        235 

is  left  in  sacks,  which  are  dumped  on  the  ground  from 
the  platform  of  the  machine  as  threshed.  The  sacks  are 
then  gathered  and  drawn  to  the  railroad  station  to  be 
carried  by  rail  to  the  place  of  shipment  or  of  final  use. 
The  dry  harvest  conditions  make  this  method  of  han- 
dling grain  entirely  practicable. 


HARVESTING  600  ACRES  TURKEY  RED  WHEAT  WITH  A  COM- 
BINED HARVESTER  IN  ROSEBUD  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

Where  the  crop  is  threshed  from  the  shock,  the  work 
is  usually  done  by  machines  which  go  from  place  to 
place.  Some  of  these  take  their  own  crews  along  with 
them  with  board  and  lodging.  This  method  of  thresh- 
ing is  very  convenient  for  the  farmer,  but  it  is  usually 
costly  because  of  the  prices  charged.  It  will  doubtless 
be  found  economical  for  several  farmers  to  combine  and 
buy  a  small  thresher  and  do  their  own  threshing. 


236  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  yields,  of  course,  vary  with  the  conditions. 
Crops  of  winter  wheat  have  been  grown  giving  yields 
of  60  to  70  bushels  per  acre.  These  are,  of  course,  very 
exceptional  and  rare.  On  summer-fallow  land  and  after 
a  cultivated  crop,  the  average  should  not  be  less  than  25 
bushels.  Drilled  in  amid  the  stubbles  of  a  preceding 
crop  of  grain,  it  will  usually  be  much  less.  Maximum 
crops  of  spring  wheat  may  be  placed  at  about  40  bushels, 
with  an  average  of,  say,  15  to  20  bushels  in  well  prepared 
soils. 

GROWING  RYE,  WINTER  AND  SPRING 

The  place  assigned  to  rye  in  the  past  in  semi-arid 
areas  has  been  of  but  little  significance.  The  great 
use  that  may  be  made  of  it  in  such  areas  is  not,  apparent- 
ly, well  understood  by  many  of  those  who  till  the  soil. 
In  wide  areas  its  growth  has  not  been  attempted,  not- 
withstanding that  it  may  be  grown  with  advantage 
for  more  uses  on  the  farm  than  any  other  cereal. 
These  include  growing  it:  (1)  for  the  grain;  (2) 
for  hay ;  (3)  for  pasture,  and  (4)  for  green  manuring. 
The  methods  to  be  followed  in  growing  it  for  these  sev- 
eral uses  are,  fortunately,  nearly  the  same.  The  chief 
difference  lies  in  the  amounts  of  seed  to  use,  but  there 
is  some  difference,  also,  in  the  time  that  is  most  o'ppor- 
tune  for  sowing  the  seed. 

Rye,  especially  of  the  winter  varieties,  may  be  grown 
under  a  greater  variety  of  conditions  than  any  other 
cereal  adapted  to  semi-arid  areas.  It  is  the  hardiest  of 
all  cereals  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  climatic  con- 
ditions. It  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  it  will  stand 
more  heat  and  drought  than  any  of  these.  With  refer- 
ence to  cold,  it  is  the  hardiest  of  the  cereals,  by  far.  The 
variations  in  the  time  for  sowing  it  are  greater,  and  it  will 
grow  on  a  greater  variety  of  soils.  It  may  be  grown 
successfully  in  the  coldest  portions  of  the  semi-arid  west 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        237 

and  with  almost  unfailing  certainty,  when  it  is  prop- 
erly grown.  Compared  with  wheat,  it  will  grow  on 
a  poorer  soil,  in  colder  latitudes  and  under  drier  con- 
ditions. It  is  also  much  more  valuable  as  a  pasture  crop, 
owing  in  great  measure  to  the  long  period  through  which 
it  will  grow  when  kept  down  by  rather  close  grazing. 
In  this  way  it  has  been  kept  in  the  soil  and  producing 
for  two  or  three  seasons  under  conditions  peculiarly 
favorable  to  its  growth.  The  straw  has  not  as  yet  been 
used  in  certain  industries  in  the  west  as  it  has  been  in 
the  east,  but  there  are  no  inherent  reasons  why  it  should 
not  come  to  be  so  used.  One  of  the  chief  objections  to 
growing  it  in  a  country  adapted  to  the  growth  of  winter 
wheat  is  the  extent  to  which  it  volunteers  from  shat- 
tered grain. 

Soils. — Other  things  being  equal,  the  returns  from 
rye  will  be  liberal  in  proportion  as  the  soils  on  which 
it  is  grown  are  rich  in  the  elements  of  plant  food.  But 
it  is  usually  sown  on  land  relatively  low  in  fertility  and 
under  conditions  of  preparation  that  are  inferior,  the 
better  soil,  and  that  also  with  the  better  preparation,  be- 
ing reserved  for  crops  that  are  less  able  to  grow  under 
hard  conditions.  Rye  can  gather  food  more  readily  from 
the  soil  than  other  small  grains,  hence  the  power  which 
it  has  to  grow  on  poor  soils. 

The  best  soils  for  rye  are  those  that  are  deep,  rich 
and  friable,  and  in  which  the  subsoil  is  reasonably  open 
rather  than  dense.  A  sandy  loam  is  more  suited  to  the 
needs  of  the  crop  than  a  dense  clay  loam.  Under  some 
conditions  it  may  be  grown  with  considerable  success 
on  light  sands,  even  light  enough  to  lift  more  or  less 
with  the  wind.  The  largest  yields,  however,  will  be  ob-/ 
tained  from  soils  in  which  the  clay  element  is  quite  pro- 
nounced. It  would  be  correct  to  say  that  rye  may  be 
successfully  grown  on  the  major  portion  of  the  tillable 
soils  of  the  semi-arid  west. 


238  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Soils  that  are  illy  adapted  to  the  growth  of  rye  are 
those  that  are  over-impregnated  with  alkali,  those  that 
are  known  as  pronounced  gumbo,  those  that  consist 
largely  of  coarse  gravel,  and  those  that  are  quite  shallow 
and  underlaid  with  hard-pan  or  rock.  Reasonably  good 
crops  may  be  grown  where  the  alkali  is  not  too  pro- 
nounced and  also  on  gumbo  soils  under  some  conditions. 
The  chief  difficulty  with  the  latter  is  mechanical.  They 
are  not  easily  tilled. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — No  cereal  grown  in  dry  areas 
can  so  readily  accommodate  itself  to  a  rotation  as  rye. 
It  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  it  may  be  assigned 
any  place  in  the  rotation,  but  not,  of  course,  with  equal 
adaptation. 

It  will  grow  excellently  well  on  summer-fallow  land 
or  on  land  that  has  produced  a  cultivated  crop,  but  land 
thus  prepared  can  seldom  be  spared  for  rye.  It  will  grow- 
well  on  sod  land  that  has  been  properly  prepared.  The 
winter  variety  may  follow  a  crop,  as  described  below  (see 
p.  239),  when  it  is  to  be  used  first  as  pasture  and  later 
for  the  purpose  of  providing  grain.  It  may  also  be 
drilled  in  between  the  rows  of  standing  corn  late  in  the 
season  or  sown  later  if  the  land  can  be  spared  for  such 
a  use.  Spring  rye  will  follow  a  grain  crop  with  more 
of  certainty  in  its  growth  than  almost  any  other  cereal, 
providing  the  land  has  been  properly  prepared. 

As  rye  is  more  commonly  sown  on  land  out  of  con- 
dition than  other  crops,  the  aim  should  be  to  follow  it 
with  the  bare-fallow  or  with  a  crop  that  calls  for  culti- 
vation during  the  period  of  its  growth. 

More  commonly  rye  will  follow  grain  than  any  of 
the  other  cereals  for  the  reason  that  under  such  con- 
ditions it  may  succeed  where  other  grains  will  fail. 
Where  the  precipitation  is  considerable  in  the  autumn 
months,  rye  may  be  sown  on  newly  plowed  stubble  and 
and  yet  succeed.  Where  the  rainfall  is  short,  it  sue- 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        239 

ceeds  better  when  simply  drilled  in  amid  the  stubbles. 
But  the  best  crops  of  rye  are  grown  on  land  that  has 
been  cultivated  or  that  has  been  summer-fallowed. 

Preparing  the  land. — The  preparation  given  to  the 
land  when  preparing  it  for  rye  is  usually  less  perfect 
than  that  given  to  it  when  preparing  it  for  wheat.  This 
does  not  mean,  however,  that  careful  preparation  of  the 
soil  for  rye  will  not  be  as  abundantly  repaid  as  it  would 
be  in  the  case  of  wheat,  but  it  does  mean  that  rye  will 
grow  better  relatively  than  wheat  under  imperfect  prepa- 
ration of  the  soil. 

When  rye  is  grown  on  summer-fallow  land,  the  con- 
ditions of  preparation  are  virtually  the  same  as  for  wheat 
(see  p.  218).  The  same  may  be  said  of  it  when  it  fol- 
lows a  cultivated  crop,  with  the  difference,  however,  that 
after  such  a  crop  rye  may  be  sown  later  than  wheat.  It 
may  usually  be  sown  with  safety  after  such  cultivated 
crops  as  corn  and  potatoes  have  been  removed  from  the 
land. 

When  rye  is  sown  early  in  the  season,  as  early  as, 
say,  June  or  July,  in  order  to  provide  pasture  for  live 
stock,  the  land  is  best  prepared  by  plowing  it  the  pre- 
vious autumn.  Before  it  is  so  plowed  it  may  be  a  wise 
plan  to  disc  it.  But  when  not  so  prepared  it  may  be 
plowed  in  the  spring,  especially  in  areas  where  the  pre- 
cipitation comes  mainly  during  the  period  of  growth  in 
the  crops. 

Notwithstanding  the  hardiness  of  winter  rye,  it  is 
easily  possible  to  sow  it  under  conditions  that  invite 
failure.  These  include:  (1)  sowing  so  late  in  the  season 
that  the  plants  do  not  germinate  at  all,  or  if  they  do  ger- 
minate they  are  so  delicate  that  stern  winter  weather 
will  destroy  them ;  (2)  sowing  winter  rye  on  land  in  the 
dry  autumn  that  has  not  in  it  enough  moisture  to  pro- 
duce healthy  germination  or,  indeed,  any  form  of  ger- 
mination ;  (3)  sowing  winter  rye  in  the  early  spring.  It 


240 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


will  grow  vigorously  for  a  time,  and  may  thus  be  made 
to  provide  considerable  pasture,  but  it  will  not  reach  the 
earing  stage,  at  least  under  many  conditions. 

Sowing. — With  reference  to  varieties,  but  little  can 
be  said.  Rye  is  simply  rye  in  the  mind  of  the  western 
farmer,  but  in  time  there  will  be  distinct  varieties  of 


DRY  LAND  RYE. 

Holter  Ranch,  Lewis  and  Clark  County,  Montana. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

rye,  some  of  which  will  no  doubt  be  possessed  of  superior 
merit.  Some  foreign  varieties  have  already  been  intro- 
duced which  promise  considerable  in  the  line  of  increased 
production. 

Rye  of  the  winter  varieties  may  be  sown  at  any  time 
from,  say,  early  June  until  late  September  or  even  Octo- 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        241 

ber,  according  to  the  object  for  which  it  is  grown.  When 
sown  to  provide  grazing,  it  may  be  sown  as  early  as;  say, 
June  or  July.  When  thus  sown,  it  will  furnish  grazing 
during  the  summer  and  also  the  following  spring.  But 
the  amount  of  the  grazing  the  following  spring  may 
not  equal  that  of  rye  that  has  been  sown  later,  and 
that  has  not  been  so  grazed  the  preceding  autumn. 
When  rye  is  sown  to  produce  some  grazing  autumn  and 
spring,  followed  by  a  crop  of  grain,  it  is  more  commonly 
sown  in  August  or  September.  When  it  is  sown  late 
to  provide  grain,  as  in  October,  it  will  usually  be  wise 
not  to  graze  at  all,  either  spring  or  fall,  because  of  the 
somewhat  delicate  character  of  the  growth. 

The  method  of  sowing  is  much  the  same  as  for 
wheat.  The  aim  should  be,  in  all  instances,  to  sow  rye 
with  the  drill  rather  than  broadcast,  for  reasons  that 
will  be  apparent.  Especially  is  this  true  of  rye  that  is 
sown  amid  stubbles.  When  thus  sown  the  drill  buries 
the  seed  to  a  depth  that  will  enable  the  plants  the  better 
to  resist  the  influences  of  adverse  winter  weather.  When 
sown  amid  standing  corn,  the  small  one-horse  drill  must 
needs  be  used.  When  sown  after  the  corn  has  been 
harvested,  the  ordinary  seed  drill  will  do  the  work  suf- 
ficiently well,  but  there  may  be  instances  in  which  the 
disc  or  the  disc  and  harrow  may  profitably  precede  the 
drill. 

Rye  should  be  buried  to  the  depth  of  2  to  3  inches 
in  the  soil  under  average  conditions,  but  there  may  be 
instances  in  which  the  seed  should  be  buried  more  deeply 
in  order  to  reach  soil  moisture;  especially  is  this  true  in 
the  dry  autumn.  The  more  deeply  that  the  seed  is  sown 
up  to  a  certain  limit,  the  better  will  it  withstand  drought, 
and  the  less  easily  will  it  be  injured  by  the  harrowing 
process. 

Rye  does  not  stool  as  much  as  wheat  and  oats,  and 
therefore  should  be  sown  somewhat  more  thickly,  espe- 


242 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


cially  when  compared  with  wheat.  When  sown  for 
the  grain,  not  fewer  than,  say,  5  pecks  of  winter  or 
spring  rye  should  be  sown  where  the  rainfall  is  about 
15  inches  for  the  year.  When  sown  for  pasture  mainly, 
or  for  hay,  as  much  as  2  bushels  of  seed  may  sown. 
The  grazing  of  the  plants  reduces  the  drain  on  soil  mois- 
ture that  would  otherwise  follow.  When  sown  for  burial, 
reasonably  thick  seeding,  as  in  the  case  of  sowing  for 
pasture,  will  best  serve  the  purpose. 


DRY  LAND  RYE,  ROSEBUD  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

The  care  of  rye. — The  care  of  winter  rye  involves, 
chiefly,  the  harrowing  of  the  crop  and  the  pasturing  of  the 
same.  Much  that  has  been  said  with  reference  to  the 
harrowing  of  winter  wheat  will  also  apply  to  winter 
rye.  But  when  winter  rye  is  sown  as  early  as,  say,  June 
or  July,  to  provide  autumn  pasture,  it  should  be  har- 
rowed more  times  than  winter  wheat  and  usually  in  pro- 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        243 

portion  as  the  season  for  growth  is  longer  in  the  former 
than  in  the  latter.  The  rye  crop,  like  the  wheat  crop,  may 
also  call  for  discing  rather  than  harrowing  in  the  spring- 
time, because  of  the  impaction  of  the  land.  The  same 
may  be  true  of  the  crop  while  it  is  being  grazed. 

When  sown  early  for  grazing,  the  grazing  should 
be  close,  or  the  rye  may  tend  to  exhaust  itself  and  also 
to  draw  too  heavily  on  the  moisture  in  the  soil.  When 
sown  in  the  fall  season  at  the  usual  time  for  furnishing 
grain,  there  are  instances  in  which  the  crop  may  be  hurt 
by  leaf  rust  if  left  ungrazed.  But  when  sown  late  the 
crop  will  produce  more  grain,  as  a  rule,  when  not  grazed 
either  autumn  or  spring.  In  the  semi-arid  country,  rye 
should  not  be  grazed  with  undue  severity  when  a  grain 
crop  is  to  be  obtained  from  it,  nor  should  spring-sown  rye, 
as  a  rule,  be  grazed  when  it  is  to  produce  a  crop  of  grain. 
Close  grazing  in  the  spring  will  materially  prolong  the 
season  of  pasturing,  as  it  tends  to  prevent  the  formation 
of  heads. 

Harvesting. — Rye  is  ready  for  harvesting  when  the 
stems  turn  yellow  for,  say,  9  to  12  inches  below  the 
head.  While  it  is  greatly  important  that  it  shall  be 
promptly  harvested  to  prevent  scattering  seed  that  may 
volunteer  later,  it  will  not  take  injury  so  readily  as  wheat 
from  deferred  harvesting,  as  it  does  not  shell  so  readily 
as  some  kinds  of  wheat,  nor  does  the  straw  break  down 
so  readily. 

On  small  areas  it  is  usually  cut  with  the  grain  har- 
vester and  cured  in  round  shocks  in  the  field.  In  large 
areas  it  may  be  headed  like  wheat.  In  sufficiently  large 
areas  the  combined  header  and  thresher  would  be  the 
proper  implement  to  use,  but  it  is  seldom  grown  on  a 
scale  so  extensive  as  to  justify  this  method  of  harvesting. 

It  may  be  threshed  as  wheat  (see  p.  233).  It  is  sel- 
dom or  never  fed  in  the  sheaf  when  grown  alone.  The 
grain,  judiciously  fed,  makes  excellent  food  for  all  classes 


244  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

of  live  stock,  and  in  some  countries  it  is  extensively  used 
in  making  bread.  The  yields  vary  greatly.  The  yield 
will  be  about  15  to  18  bushels  per  acre.  Maximum  yields 
run  as  high  as  40  bushels. 

When  harvested  for  hay  it  should  be  cut  from  the 
time  of  early  bloom  until  the  grain  has  neared  the  dough 
stage.  At  the  latter  stage  the  hay  will  probably  contain 
more  nutriment,  but  it  will  be  less  palatable  because  of 
increase  in  woodiness.  It  does  not  make  first-class  hay. 
It  may  be  cut  for  hay  with  the  mower,  but  preferably 
with  the  binder  and  cured  in  long  rather  than  in  round 
shocks. 

For  green  manure. — In  the  semi-arid  country,  rye 
may  be  buried  for  green  manure  with  greatest  advantage 
when  the  land  is  to  be  summer-fallowed.  When  buried 
so  that  a  spring  crop  may  follow  it  the  same  season,  the 
burial  will  take  place  too  late  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
crop  if  the  rye  is  to  be  buried  at  that  stage  which  will 
be  most  helpful  to  the  land.  The  crop  should  usually 
be  buried  when  it  is  nearing  the  earing  stage,  but  before 
the  ears  appear,  as,  if  the  rye  is  allowed  to  reach  a  stage 
of  growth  too  advanced,  it  will  not  decay  quickly  enough 
in  a  dry  soil.  Impaction  should  follow  the  burial  of 
the  crop  to  hasten  its  decay. 

GROWING  FLAX 

Next  to  wheat,  flax  will  be  the  most  important  cash 
crop  grown  on  the  bench  lands  of  many  parts  of  the 
semi-arid  west,  and  more  especially  in  the  Great  Plains 
region,  where  much  of  the  rain  falls  during  the  period 
of  growth.  It  will  grow  on  a  relatively  small  amount 
of  rainfall,  and  it  may  be  grown  with  more  success  than 
any  other  cereal  on  spring-plowed  land  in  a  season  when 
the  moisture  supply  is  not  plentiful. 

Soils. — Flax  will  grow  well  on  any  of  the  soils  of 
the  semi-arid  west  that  will  grow  goods  crops  of  wheat. 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        245 

This  means  that  it  will  grow  on  the  major  portion  of 
the  tillable  area  in  the  same.  The  best  soils  for  this 
crop  are  the  clay  loams  of  the  benches  that  are  sufficiently 
supplied  with  sand  to  make  them  readily  friable.  Flax, 
like  other  cereals,  does  not  grow  well  on  light  sands  or 
coarse  gravels,  on  cloddy  soils,  on  those  that  cement 
readily  on  the  surface  after  rain  or  on  alkali  lands. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Flax  may  be  given  any  place 
in  the  rotation  where  the  conditions  pertaining  to  growth 
are  suitable,  but  the  crops  furnished  will  differ  greatly 
with  the  rotation.  The  best  crops  will  probably  be  ob- 
tained from  it  when  grown  on  land  carefully'  summer- 
fallowed  or  after  a  cultivated  crop,  but  land  thus  prepared 
is  usually  devoted  to  the  growing  of  a  plant  less  rugged 
than  flax.  Overturned  sod,  whether  heretofore  unbroken 
prairie  or  other  sod,  furnishes  an  excellent  preparation 
for  flax.  Because  of  this,  it  is  very  frequently  made  the 
first  crop  on  new  breaking,  and  for  the  further  reason 
that  it  is  the  safest  grain  crop  that  can  be  grown  under 
such  conditions,  especially  when  the  sowing  is  not  too 
long  deferred.  Where  the  normal  rainfall  is  more  than 
15  inches,  flax  may  frequently  be  made  to  follow  a  grain 
crop,  but  where  it  is  less,  such  sowing  should  be  avoided. 
On  new  land  it  is  quite  feasible  to  grow  two  crops  in 
succession  with  good,  healthy  seed,  but  such  a  rotation 
is  not  to  be  commended.  Under  some  conditions  it  may 
be  in  order  to  follow  flax  with  grain.  The  plan,  how- 
ever, is  safer  which  follows  flax  with  summer-fallow  or 
with  a  cultivated  crop,  as  corn.  The  flax  crop  dries  out 
the  soil  and  loosens  it  to  such  an  extent  that  the  hazard 
to  the  next  crop  from  drought  is  increased.  The  preva- 
lent idea  that  flax  should  not  be  grown  on  land  more 
frequently,  than  every  six  or  seven  years  is  not  well 
founded,  providing  the  conditions  for  growing  it  are 
right  and  the  seed  is  free  from  disease  germs. 


246  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Although  flax  is  more  frequently  grown  as  the  first 
crop  on  breaking  than  any  other  crop,  unless  it  be  wheat, 
the  wisdom  of  making  it  the  first  crop  in  preference  to 
wheat  is  to  be  questioned.  Experience  has  shown  that 
when  wheat  is  the  first  crop  and  flax  the  second,  the  re- 
turns from  the  crops  that  follow,  covering  a  period  of, 
say,  four  to  five  years,  will  be  greater. 

Preparing  the  land. — Flax  calls  for  a  seed  bed  fine 
on  the  top  and  firm  below,  though  good  crops  have  been 
grown  on  a  seed  bed  rough  and  soddy.  One  that  has  a 
smooth  as  well  as  a  fine  surface  is  much  to  be  preferred, 
as  the  crop  grown  on  it  may  be  harvested  with  much 
less  loss  by  waste.  A  properly  prepared  summer-fallow 
or  a  cultivated  crop  well  cared  for  furnishes  an  ideal 
seed  bed  for  flax.  As  the  crop  is  not  sown  very  early, 
careful  attention  should  be  given  to  the  conservation  of 
moisture,  subsequent  to  the  advent  of  spring,  by  the 
judicious  use  of  the  disc  or  harrow  or  both. 

When  sod  is  broken  for  flax  in  the  early  summer,  it 
is  managed  on  the  summer-fallow  plan  (see  p.  170).  "When 
sown  on  spring  breaking,  the  land  should  be  plowed,  if 
practicable,  in  the  early  spring  and  as  deeply  as  6  inches. 
It  should  then  be  pressed  down  at  once  with  a  roller 
and  disced  and  harrowed  until  a  fine  seed  bed  is  made, 
and  as  free  as  possible  from  sods.  The  seed  should  be 
sown,  as  a  rule,  not  later  than  May  15th,  to  avoid  undue 
hazard  should  the  season  turn  dry.  This  does  not  con- 
tradict the  fact  that  good  crops  of  flax  may  be  grown 
on  sod  land  plowed  quite  shallow  and  in  many  instances 
left  unsown  as  late  as  June  15th,  in  northern  areas,  but 
in  all  such  sowing  there  is  the  hazard  that  failure  may 
follow. 

When  wheat  or  other  grain  is  the  first  crop,  and 
when  the  breaking  has  been  done  fairly  deep  and  flax 
is  sown  as  the  second  crop,  it  would  seem  to  be  the  bet- 
ter plan  to  prepare  the  ground  for  flax  by  discing  it 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        247 

rather  than  by  plowing,  that  the  sod  buried  may  not 
again  be  brought  to  the  surface  until  it  is  more  decayed. 
The  first  discing  should  be  given  as  soon  as  possible  after 
the  harvesting  of  the  grain  and  the  second  the  following 
spring,  with  such  harrowing  as  may  be  necessary. 

Sowing. — But  few  varieties,  or  strains  even,  of  flax 
have  been  introduced  into  the  United  States,  much  less 
into  the  semi-arid  country.  In  the  latter  it  is  grown 
exclusively  for  grain  production,  and  only  what  may  be 
termed  the  common  variety  is  sown.  Improved  strains 
will  doubtless  come  in  the  near  future. 

The  time  of  sowing  varies  much,  even  in  the  same 
locality.  In  common  practise  it  covers  a  period  of  fully 
six  weeks.  In  proximity  to  the  Canadian  border,  the 
period  during  which  flax  is  sown  runs  from,  say,  May 
1st  to  June  15th.  The  common  idea  that  flax  is  easily 
destroyed  by  frost  in  the  spring  is  not  well  founded.  It 
will  not  stand  so  much  frost  as  wheat  and  some  other 
crops,  but  spring  frosts  of  considerable  severity  will  not 
kill  it.  To  eliminate  the  elements  of  hazard  from  flax 
on  spring-plowed  land  in  a  dry  season,  it  should  be  sown 
not  later  than  May  15th.  This  does  not  mean  that  in 
some  instances  good  crops  may  not  be  grown  on  spring- 
plowed  land  sown  late,  and  which  was  also  plowed  late 
and  shallow.  The  favorite  time  for  sowing  flax  in  north- 
ern areas  is  the  month  of  May.  Southward  it  should  be 
sown  earlier.  The  hazard  from  late  sowing  comes,  first, 
from  dry  weather  that  may  follow  the  sowing,  and,  sec- 
ond, from  frost  that  may  overtake  the  crop  when  in  the 
boll  stage. 

Before  sowing  flax,  unless  the  farmer  is  fully  as- 
sured that  the  seed  is  absolutely  free  from  wilt  spores, 
he  should  not  fail  to  treat  it  with  a  40  per  cent,  solu- 
tion of  formaldehyde  and  water.  One  pint  of  formalde- 
hyde is  used  to  40  gallons  of  water.  The  solution  is 
best  applied  with  a  spray  pump  that  will  throw  a  fine 


248  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

spray.  When  applying  it  to  the  seed,  it  is  spread  thinly 
on  a  floor.  While  one  person  sprays  the  seed,  a  second 
person  rakes  it  over  to  prevent  the  seeds  from  adhering 
as  they  would  if  not  so  stirred.  The  dampening  should 
be  thorough  and  complete.  The  seed  should  then  be 
covered  with  a  covering  of  some  kind  for  a  couple  of 
hours,  that  the  fumes  may  have  opportunity  to  permeate 
the  mass.  When  this  dread  disease  once  gets  into  the 
soil,  it  remains  in  the  same  for  several  years,  and  while 
it  does,  flax  should  not  be  again  sown  on  such  land. 

It  is  much  safer  to  sow  flax  with  the  drill  than  broad- 
cast, as  complete  germination  from  drill  sowing  is  much 
more  sure  than  from  broadcast  sowing.  The  hazard  from 
broadcast  sowing  increases  with  the  lateness  of  the  sow- 
ing and  increasing  dryness  in  the  weather.  On  many 
soils  the  press  drill  does  the  best  work,  as  its  use  facili- 
tates quick  germination  in  the  seed. 

The  seed  should,  as  a  rule,  be  sown  shallow  rather 
than  deep.  In  loose  and  very  porous  soils  it  may  go 
down  to  the  depth  of  2  to  3  inches.  In  heavy  soils 
and  moist,  it  may  not  be  buried  more  than  1  to  2  inches 
without  weakening  the  early  growth  of  the  plants.  Flax 
seed  has  not  much  power  to  sustain  growth  in  plants 
that  are  buried  deeply  before  they  reach  the  surface. 
In  dry  weather,  nevertheless,  the  seed  must  be  put  down 
to  moisture  before  it  can  reach  the  surface. 

The  amount  of  seed  to  sow  will  run  between  the 
extremes  of  1  and  2  pecks.  On  well  prepared  land  1% 
pecks  per  acre  will  suffice,  where  the  rainfall  is  about 
15  inches  in  a  year.  Where  the  seed  is  purchased,  the 
farmer  should  guard  carefully  against  the  introduction 
of  foul  weed  seed. 

Care  of  the  crop. — After  flax  has  been  sown,  but 
little  can  be  done  with  it  to  promote  growth  by  way  of 
manipulating  the  soil,  as  the  plants  are  easily  injured 
when  young.  If  the  crop  is  sown  on  land  more  or  less 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        249 

cloddy,  or  soddy  on  the  surface,  or  covered  with  no 
little  trash,  as  when  strong  stubbles  are  prepared  by 
discing  for  receiving  the  seed,  the  harrow  can  seldom 
or  never  be  used  on  such  land  after  the  crop  is  up,  with- 
out doing  more  harm  than  good.  This  means  that  the 
harrow  cannot  be  used  on  a  flax  crop  sown,  as  it  so  fre- 
quently is,  on  land  plowed  shallow  and  on  which  pieces 
of  broken  sod  are  strewn.  The  harrow  may  be  used, 
however,  in  some  instances,  if  the  land  becomes  much 
encrusted  on  the  surface  soon  after  sowing  the  flax,  or 
even  at  a  later  period.  When  the  surface  is  smooth 
and  fine,  the  harrow  may,  in  many  instances,  be  used 
with  advantage  when  the  plants  are,  say,  3  to  4  inches 
high.  When  the  ground  is  cloddy,  the  roller  or  the 
planker  should  be  run  over  'the  land  before  sowing  the 
seed.  The  weeder  will,  in  many  instances,  serve  a  better 
purpose  than  the  harrow  on  a  growing  crop. 

Harvesting. — The  crop  is  ready  for  harvesting  when 
the  greater  portion  of  the  bolls  have  turned  brown.  The 
stems  will  still  be  green.  The  cutting  should  be  promptly 
done  in  dry  areas,  as  the  crop  usually  ripens  up  quickly, 
and  if  not  cut  until  over-ripe,  much  loss  may  result  from 
the  shedding  of  the  bolls  during  the  process  of  har- 
vesting. 

The  crop  is  best  cut  with  a  reaper  that  will  lay  the 
grain  in  loose  sheaves  of  suitable  size  for  easy  lifting. 
The  grain  will  dry  quickly,  and  is  best  threshed  from 
the  sheaf.  But  in  case  of  necessity  it  may  be  stacked. 
Should  the  straw  be  unusually  long,  it  may  be  bound 
while  being  cut. 

The  crop  is  threshed  as  other  grain  is  threshed.  The 
yields  in  the  semi-arid  country  run  all  the  way  from  no 
return  on  poorly  prepared  land  in  a  dry  season  to  30 
bushels  per  acre  in  a  bountiful  season.  The  average 
crop  should  be  not  far  from  10  to  12  bushels  in  dry  areas. 


250  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

GROWING  BARLEY 

The  barley  crop  ranks  high  among  the  crops  that 
will  be  grown  in  the  semi-arid  belt.  This  arises  from 
the  fact:  (1)  that  it  furnishes  varieties  with  adaptation 
for  brewing  and  other  varieties  specially  well  adapted 
to  the  feeding  of  live  stock ;  (2)  that  it  furnishes  brew- 
ing barley  of  the  highest  quality ;  (3)  that  it  matures 
early  in  the  season  and  before  the  weather  reaches  the 
maximum  of  heat  or  drought,  and  (4)  that  it  furnishes 
a  valuable  forage  that,  in  some  of  its  varieties,  may  be 
fed  as  hay  in  the  unthreshed  form,  alone  or  in  conjunc- 
tion with  other  crops.  It  may  also  be  made  to  furnish 
good  pasture  for  swine  in  case  of  need.  This,  at  least, 
is  true  of  some  of  its  varieties.  It  may  be  grown  in  some 
areas  by  sowing  both  in  the  autumn  and  in  the  spring. 

Soils. — Barley  will  grow  in  good  form  on  many  of 
the  soils  of  the  dry  west.  The  clay  loam  soils  of  the 
Plains  country  are  well  adapted  to  its  growth.  With  a 
reasonable  sprinkling  of  sand  they  are  further  improved. 
The  volcanic  ash  soils  of  the  west  have  shown  high 
adaptation  to  the  growth  of  barley.  The  same  is  true 
of  soils  in  the  foothills  of  the  mountains,  which  are  rich 
in  humus.  Soils  low  in  adaptation  are  sands  and  gravels 
that  will  soon  lose  their  moisture  supply.  On  the  latter 
the  growth  of  straw  is  so  light  that  the  heads  are  small, 
and  the  yields,  also,  are  correspondingly  small. 

Place  in  rotation. — Barley,  like  wheat,  may  safely 
follow  the  bare-fallow  and  also  a  cultivated  crop.  When 
thus  grown  the  yields  are  usually  larger  than  those  ob- 
tained from  wheat,  and  when  of  the  brewing  varieties 
the  price  is  frequently  as  high  as  that  of  wheat,  because 
of  the  high  quality  of  the  same.  Where  the  rainfall 
is  reasonably  liberal,  barley  may  also  be  made  the  second 
crop  on  well  prepared  land  after  summer-fallow,  where 
the  rainfall  is  15  inches  and  more.  Barley,  under  certain 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        251 

conditions,  may  be  followed  by  a  winter  crop  drilled 
into  the  stubbles,  as  winter  wheat  or  winter  rye.  It  may 
also  be  followed  by  a  cultivated  crop,  as  corn,  or  by 
summer-fallow.  The  best  crops  of  barley  will  come  after 
summenrfallow  or  after  a  cultivated  crop. 

Preparing  the  soil. — Barley  is  a  crop  that  grows 
rapidly,  hence  the  seed  bed  should  be  in  good  condition. 
It  does  not  feed  so  deeply  as  some  of  the  other  cereals. 
It  is  greatly  important  when  growing  barley  that  the 
seed  bed  shall  be  in  good  condition,  mechanically,  and 
well  stored  with  readily  available  plant  food.  The  prepa- 
ration of  summer-fallow  and  of  cultivated  land  is  the 
same,  virtually,  as  for  wheat  (see  p.  218).  Where  the 
rainfall  exceeds  15  inches  and  where  much  of  the  rain 
falls  in  the  growing  period,  barley  may  be  sown  late,  as 
an  aid  in  the  cleaning  of  the  land.  This  follows,  first, 
from  the  opportunity  given  to  harass  weeds  from  the 
opening  of  spring  until  the  barley  is  sown,  and  from  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  barley,  which  makes  it  possible  to 
mature  it  before  many  weeds  can  ripen  their  seeds.  But 
where  the  rainfall  is  very  light  such  a  course  would  be 
followed  by  absolute  failure  in  the  crop  in  a  dry  season. 

Sowing. — The  varieties  of  barley  may  be  classified : 
(1)  as  winter  or  spring;  (2)  bearded  brewing  barleys, 
which  are  two,  four  and  six  rowed ;  (3)  bearded  six- 
rowed  barleys  which  are  hulless;  (4)  beardless  two  and 
six-rowed  barleys  which  retain  their  hulls,  and  (5) 
beardless  barleys  which  are  also  hulless.  The  Tennessee 
is  probably  the  best  known  of  the  winter  varieties.  The 
northerly  limit  for  the  growth  of  winter  barley  has  not 
as  yet  been  definitely  defined,  but  it  would  seem  safe 
to  say  that  it  may  be  grown  with  success  as  far  north 
as  central  Oregon.  Among  the  best  of  the  brewing  bar- 
leys are  the  Chevalier,  Goldthorpe  and  Mensury.  The 
two  former  are  two-rowed  and  the  latter  is  six-rowed. 
One  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  bearded  hulless  varieties 


252  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

is  the  blue  or  purple  hulless,  which  weighs  very  heavily. 
Valuable  brewing  barleys  that  retain  their  hulls  are 
frequently  grown  with  much  success  in  the  semi-arid 
west.  The  barleys  most  generally  grown  are  those  that 
are  beardless  and  also  hulless.  The  white  hulless  is  a 
favorite  variety.  One  objection  to  these  barleys  is  that 
they  are  carried  on  weak  straw,  and  a  further  objection 
is  that  they  are  too  hard  for  most  kinds  of  feeding,  in 
the  unprepared  form.  Nevertheless  they  are  the  most 
popular  of  the  dry  farm  feeding  barleys,  more  especially 
those  of  them  that  are  six-rowed.  More  commonly  bar- 
ley is  white,  but  blue  and  black  and  various  shades  are 
by  no  means  uncommon. 

Barley  should,  as  a  rule,  be  sown  early,  but  not  quite 
so  early  as  wheat  under  all  conditions  of  growth.  Though 
not  so  rugged  as  wheat,  nevertheless  it  will  stand  freez- 
ing that  is  somewhat  severe  without  serious  injury. 
Far  .north,  in  dry  areas,  it  is  not  usually  sown  before 
May  1st.  Far  south  in  the  same,  it  may  be  sown  nearly 
two  months  earlier.  It  may  be  grown  on  higher  eleva- 
tions than  almost  any  other  grain,  because  of  the  short 
period  called  for  in  order  to  mature  it,  but  when  grown 
in  such  areas  the  sowing  must  be  late. 

This  crop  is  almost  invariably  sown  with  the  grain 
drill.  The  advantages  from  sowing  it  thus  are  similar 
to  those  which  follow  sowing  wheat  in  the  same  way 
(see  p.  173).  The  same  is  true  of  it  whether  sown  alone 
or  in  combination  with  some  other  grain.  Barley  should 
not  be  sown  quite  as  deeply  as  wheat,  but  the  difference 
is  not  marked.  From  2  to  3  inches  should  be  the  rule, 
with  variations  to  suit  the  needs  of  the  soil  and  the 
depth  of  the  moisture  at  the  time  for  sowing. 

The  amount  of  seed  to  sow  will  vary  from,  say,  3 
to  5  pecks  under  the  varying  conditions  met  with  in  the 
dry  country.  From  3  to  4  pecks  per  acre  will  meet  the 
needs  of  nearly  all  the  varying  soil  conditions  where  the 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        253 


rainfall  is  approximately  15  inches  per  year.  When  sown 
alone  to  furnish  hay,  not  less  than  5  pecks  should  usually 
be  sown. 

Care  of  the  crop. — About  the  only  care  than  can  be 
given  to  barley  on  non-irrigated  lands  after  it  has  been 
sown,  is  to  harrow  it  as  frequently  as  may  be  necessary 
and  at  the  time  that  may  be  opportune  in  each  instance. 


DRY  LAND  WHITE  HULLESS  BARLEY,  DAWSONiCO.,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

It  may  usually  be  harrowed  with  profit  when  the  blades 
begin  to  show,  whether  the  ground  is  or  it  not  crusted, 
for  many  weeds  will  be  thus  destroyed  just  when  they 
begin  to  form  roots.  Subsequently  the  number  of  the  har- 
rowings  must  be  determined  by  the  character  of  the 
weather  and  the  severity  of  the  same  that  may  be  present 
in  each  instance.  Usually  from  two  to  three  harrowings 
will  suffice. 


254  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Harvesting. — Barley  should  be  harvested  at  an -early 
stage  of  maturity,  more  especially  when  it  is  to  be  de- 
voted to  brewing  uses.  The  best  time  at  which  to  har- 
vest the  crop  for  such  a  use  is  when  the  stalk  has  turned 
yellow  for  a  few  inches  below  the  head,  the  heads  having 
assumed  a  yellowish  tint,  though  still  shaded  with  green. 
Such  early  harvesting  favors  the  bright  color  so  much 
desired  by  the  brewers.  This  bright  color  is  further 
favored  by  the  dry  and  bright  character  of  the  weather 
that  usually  characterizes  the  harvest  season.  To  secure 
this  color  with  barley  grown  in  various  localities  that 
are  humid,  bleaching  must  needs  be  resorted  to.  Vari- 
eties for  feeding  should  also  be  cut  thus  early,  as,  when 
not  cut  early,  the  loss  is  usually  quite  material  from  the 
breaking  off  of  the  heads.  When  cut  for  hay  the  crop 
should  be  harvested  when  the  grain  is  in  the  dough  stage. 
For  such  a  use  the  beardless  varieties  have  highest  adap- 
tation. 

The  crop  is  cut  with  the  harvester  and  is  cured  in 
shocks,  long  or  round,  usually  the  latter,  and  from  the 
shocks  it  is  drawn  to  the  stack  or  threshing  machine. 
If  the  shocks  are  to  remain  for  any.  considerable  time  in 
the  field,  they  should  be  capped,  especially  the  brewing 
varieties,  to  prevent  loss  of  the  bright  color  through  un- 
due exposure.  When  stacked,  the  curing  should  be 
complete  before  the  grain  is  thus  put  up,  lest  musting 
of  the  grain  should  follow  from  fermentation.  Thresh- 
ing is  done  in  the  usual  way,  that  is,  by  using  the  grain 
separator.  Of  course  the  saving  in  labor  is  very  con- 
siderable when  this  can  be  done  from  the  shock.  The 
average  yields  are  from  30  to  35  bushels  per  acre. 

GROWING  OATS 

There  is  no  food  crop  for  live  stock  which  is  more 
desirable  to  grow  in  dry  areas  than  oats.  In  some  of 
their  varieties  they  may  be  grown  quite  satisfactorily 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        255 

on  a  rainfall  of  15  inches  and  even  on  less  than  that 
amount,  but  it  is  not  so  easy,  nevertheless,  to  grow  good 
crops  of  oats  with  assured  certainty  in*  the  semi-arid 
belt  as  some  of  the  other  small  grain  crops.  This  arises, 
first,  from  the  fact  that  oats  may  not  be  sown  quite  so 
safely  early  in  the  season  as  these,  and,  second,  because 
of  the  heavier  drain  on  soil  moisture  which  it  is  claimed 
is  necessary  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  crop.  .  This  crop  is 


DRY  LAND  CANADIAN  WHITE  OATS,  FERGUS  CO.,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

of  both  spring  and  winter  varieties.  The  latter  of  course, 
can  only  be  grown  in  the  milder  latitudes.  It  is  grown 
both  for  the  grain  and  to  provide  hay. 

Soils. — The  oat  crop  will  grow  on  a  wide  range  of 
soils,  but  it  does  not  succeed  well  in  the  semi-arid  coun- 
try on  soils  that  lose  moisture  readily.  Loam  soils  that 
are  reasonably  friable  and  moist  have  highest  adapata- 


256  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

tion  for  the  growth  of  oats.  They  will  also  grow  better 
relatively  on  soils  that  are  impregnated  with  considerable 
quantities  of  alkali  than  any  of  the  cereals.  Soils  natur- 
ally dry  and  leachy  and  low  in  the  elements  of  fertility 
are  illy  adapted  to  the  growth  of  oats,  but  they  have 
greater  power  than  wheat  to  gather  plant  food  under 
untoward  conditions. 

Place  in  rotation. — The  oat, crop  may  be  given  al- 
most any  place  in  the  rotation,  but,  of  course,  not  equally 
well.  The  most  favorable  conditions  for  oats  are  on 
summer-fallowed  land  or  on  land  that  has  grown  a  well 
cared  for  crop.  But  where  the  rainfall  is  more  than  15 
inches,  the  crop  may  come  as  the  second  on  land  thus 
prepared,  as  wheat  is  usually  assigned  the  first  place 
on  fallow  or  cultivated  land.  It  does  better,  relatively, 
on  sod  newly  broken  than  many  other  crops,  but  it 
should  not  be  sown  on  such  land  unless  it  has  ample 
moisture  in  it  to  insure  germination.  Where  the  rainfall 
is  less  than  15  inches,  farmers  should  be  slow  to  sow  oats 
after  other  grain,  unless  the  previous  season  has  been 
of  a  character  to  store  the  subsoil  with  an  ample  supply 
of  moisture.  This  crop  should,  as  a  rule,  be  followed  by 
the  bare-fallow,  or  by  a  cultivated  crop,  such  as  corn. 
Under  very  dry  conditions,  oats  will  not  succeed  after 
a  grain  crop,  no  matter  how  the  land  may  be  prepared. 

Preparing  the  soil. — When  the  oat  crop  is  sown  on 
fallow  land,  or  on  land  that  has  grown  a  cultivated  crop, 
the  preparation  of  the  land  is  the  same  as  for  wheat. 
When  it  is  sown  on  sod  land  newly  broken,  the  breaking 
should  be  done  early  and  should  be  reasonably  deep.  A 
good,  fine  seed  bed  should  be  made,  though  firm  below. 
The  aim  should  be  to  have  the  surface  as  free  as  possible 
from  sods,  that  the  harrow  may  be  used  on  the  growing 
crop,  if  necessary,  without  detriment  to  it.  If  oats  is 
the  second  crop  on  breaking,  it  may  be  better  to  disc 
the  ground  autumn  and  spring  rather  than  plowing  it, 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        257 


when  preparing  it  for  oats.  If  oats  is  made  the  second 
crop  after  summer-fallow,  the  land  should  be  worked  in 
the  autumn  by  the  aid  of  the  plow  or  disc  and  harrow,  or 
by  the  aid  of  all  of  these,  as  may  be  thought  best. 

Sowing. — The  best  varieties  to  sow  will  be  influ- 
enced by  soil  and  climatic  conditions.  The  quick  matur- 
ing varieties  have  been  found  the  most  suitable  in  dry 
seasons,  as  the  dry  weather  of  the  approaching  harvest 


DRY  LAND  SIXTY-DAY  OATS,  CHOTEAU  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

season  will  injure  the  crop  less  than  if  maturity  in  it  was 
later.  In  reasonably  moist  seasons,  varieties  that  are 
slower  in  maturing  will  give  larger  yields,  but  since  it 
cannot  be  known  beforehand  as  to  the  character  of  the 
season,  it  is  safer  to  give  the  preference  to  early  matur- 
ing varieties.  Of  the  spring  varieties  the  Sixty-day  oat  is 
one  of  the  most  popular,  because  of  the  early  season  at 


258  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

which  it  matures.  The  straw  is  short,  which  is  so  far 
against  it,  and  the  kernel  is  small,  but  it  will  frequently 
produce  a  crop  where  later  varieties  would  fail.  Nearly 
akin  to  it  is  the  Kherson.  The  Burt  and  Swedish  Select 
have  proved  satisfactory.  Where  the  rainfall  is  reason- 
ably ample,  such  later  maturing  varieties  as  the  Scottish 
Chief,  Black  Beauty,  Lincoln  and  White  Abundance 
may  give  larger  yields  than  the  early  varieties.  The 
Texas  Rust  Proof  is  one  of  the  best  winter  varieties.  In 
Utah  the  Boswell  is  well  spoken  of. 

Oats  are  not  so  hardy  as  wheat,  and  because  of  this 
should  not  be  sown  quite  so  early.  Usually,  however, 
after  the  wheat,  spring  rye  and  speltz  crops  have  been 
sown,  it  will  be  quite  safe  to  sow  oats.  It  is  hazardous 
to  sow  them  late.  The  winter  varieties  should  be  sown 
early  enough  to  give  them  a  good  start  before  winter. 
The  sowing  of  oats  in  the  spring  should  be  completed 
before  it  is  time  to  plant  corn,  that  is,  not  later,  as  a  rule, 
than  the  middle  of  May  in  northern  areas. 

The  crop  should  invariably  be  sown  with  the  drill 
where  it  is  to  be  had.  If  a  drill  is  not  obtainable,  it  may 
be  a  wise  plan  to  sow  the  crop  broadcast  and  cover  it 
with  the  disc,  but  under  such  a  condition  of  sowing  it 
is  not  possible  to  cover  the  seed  uniformly. 

The  oat  crop  does  not  require  burial  so  deeply  as 
will  best  meet  the  needs  of  the  wheat  crop.  With  ample 
moisture  near  the  surface,  2  inches  would  be  amply  deep 
for  oats  in  heavy  soils,  but  in  light  and  humus  soils  it 
may  be  advantageous  to  plant  them  more  deeply.  They 
will  not  germinate,  of  course,  until  they  reach  moisture. 

On  well  prepared  land,  4  pecks  of  seed  will  be 
enough  for  average  soils,  with  many  varieties.  But  some 
varieties  may  call  for  more  seed,  as  when  they  are  pos- 
sessed of  a  very  large  kernel.  The  stooling  properties, 
of  course,  have  a  bearing  on  the  amount  of  seed  that 
should  be  used.  It  should  seldom  or  never  exceed  5 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  'DRY  AREAS        259 


pecks  to  the  acre,  and  in  many  instances  4  pecks  will 
be  ample. 

Care  of  the  crop. — 1*he  oat  crop  may  be  harrowed  in 
much  the  same  way  as  the  wheat  crop.  The  extent  of 
the  harrowing  that  may  be  given  is  practically  similar. 
The  instructions  that  bear  on  the  harrowing  of  wheat 
will  apply  about  equally  to  oats. 


DRY  LAND  OATS,  FLATHEAD  VALLEY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

Harvesting. — The  oat  crop  is  ready  to  harvest  when 
the  heads  have  assumed  a  whitish  yellow  tint.  The  stem 
above  the  ground  and  below  the  head  for  a  few  inches 
in  each  instance  will  have  assumed  a  yellow  tint,  but  the 
body  of  the  stem  will  still  be  green.  If  left  till  over-ripe, 
there  will  be  serious  loss  from  shelling  through  swaying 
caused  by  passing  winds.  For  hay  the  crop  should  be 
cut  a  little  under-ripe. 

The  binder  is  more  commonly  used  for  harvesting 
the  crop  for  the  grain,  and  in  some  instances  also  for 
hay.  In  other  instances  the  mower  is  used  to  cut  the 


260  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

hay  crop.  The  header  may  be  used,  but  the  areas  grown 
are  not  usually  large  enough  to  make  such  harvesting 
advantageous. 

The  oat  crop  is  generally  cured  in  the  round  shock 
in  areas  where  strong  winds  prevail.  The  crop  may  be 
readily  and  safely  stacked  when  cured,  or  it  may,  of 
course,  be  threshed  from  the  shock.  The  ordinary  thresh- 
er is  commonly  used.  The  average  yields  on  dry  land 
will  be  about  40  bushels,  with  maximum  yields  of,  say, 
75  to  80  bushels. 

GROWING  SPELTZ 

Speltz,  more  properly  designated  emmer,  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  introduction.  It  holds  the  grain  which 
it  produces  tightly  in  the  chaff  scale  and  consequently 
resembles  barley  more  than  wheat.  It  is  markedly 
drought-resistant,  but  the  yields  differ  much  in  different 
localities.  In  the  west  it  is  grown  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  food  for  live  stock,  for  which  it  has  a  value 
ranking  almost  equally  high  with  barley.  Heretofore 
spring  varieties,  mainly,  have  been  grown,  but  during  re- 
cent years  Buffum  has  evolved  some  winter  varieties  of 
much  promise  that  have  proved  hardy  on  the  plateaus  of 
Wyoming  and  Colorado. 

Soils. — Since  speltz  is  a  rugged  plant,  it  may  be 
grown  on  a  wide  range  of  soils.  Of  course  those  that 
are  well  stored  with  plant  food  and  that  hold  moisture 
well  will  give  the  best  crops,  but  good  crops  may  be 
grown  where  the  moisture  content  is  low.  It  would 
seem  correct  to  say  that  it  will  grow  on  soils  lower  in 
plant  food  than  would  be  suitable  for  barley,  but  has 
not  more  power  than  barley  to  grow  on  alkali  or  gumbo 
lands. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  best  crops  of  speltz 
grown  in  the  semi-arid  country  will  come  after  fallowed 
land  or  land  that  had  grown  a  cultivated  crop,  but  such 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        261 

• 

land  is  more  wanted  for  less  rugged  crops,  as  wheat  and 
oats.  Where  the  precipitation  will  admit  of  it,  this  crop 
is  frequently  made  the  second  one  after  summer-fallow 
or  otherwise  cultivated  land.  This  rotation,  however, 
should  not  be  attempted  where  the  precipitation  is  quite 
low.  Where  it  is  below  15  inches  per  year,  speltz  should, 
as  a  rule,  be  followed  by  summer-fallow  or  a  cultivated 
crop.  Speltz  may  be  grown  on  breaking,  but  it  will  not 
grow  so  well  on  such  land  as  some  other  crops,  as,  for 
instance,  flax. 

Preparing  the  soil. — When  speltz  is  grown  on  sum- 
mer-fallow or  after  a  cultivated  crop,  the  preparation  of 
the  land  involved  is  the  same  as  for  wheat  (see  p.  218) 
and  for  the  other  cereals  discussed.  When  it  is  made 
the  second  crop  in  succession  after  these,  the  land  should 
in  nearly  all  instances  be  plowed  in  the  autumn,  and 
preferably  after  discing,  with  an  interval  between  the 
discing  and  the  plowing,  which  should  be  followed  at 
once  with  the  harrow.  Early  stirring  in  the  spring  is 
also,  of  course,  essential.  Should  the  speltz  follow  a 
crop  sown  on  sod,  discing  autumn  and  spring  without 
plowing  may,  in  some  instances,  furnish  the  most  suit- 
able preparation  that  may  be  given  to  the  land. 

Sowing. — The  introduced  varieties  of  speltz  are  not 
many  and  the  introduction  has  been  so  recent  that  they 
have  not  been  much  advertised  in  the  past  under  dis- 
tinctive names.  Black  winter  emmer  is  probably  the 
best  of  the  winter  varieties. 

As  speltz  is  very  hardy,  it  would  seem  safe  to  say 
that  it  may  be  sown  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  land 
is  suitable  for  working.  It  will  then  mature  early,  but 
not  so  early  as  winter  wheat.  That  autumn-sown  should 
be  put  into  the  ground  as  early  as  winter  wheat. 

The  grain  is  best  sown  with  the  drill,  but  it  may 
be  covered  with  a  disc  in  the  absence  of  a  drill.  Because 
of  the  relatively  large  size  of  the  grain,  it  is  more  easily 


262  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

• 

uncovered  by  rain  than  some  other  grains  when  the  crop 
has  been  harrowed  in. 

The  seed  may  be  put  in  with  best  advantage  to  the 
depth  of,  say,  2%  to  3  inches,  but  there  may  be  some 
necessity  for  modification  in  order  to  meet  the  needs  of 
different  soils  and  weather  conditions. 

Speltz  does  not  stool  so  abundantly  as  some  other 
cereals.  This  fact,  linked  with  the  large  size  of  the  seed, 
calls  for  heavier  seeding  than  in  the  case  of  some  other 
cereals.  Not  less  than  5  pecks  should  be  sown  per  acre 
on  average  soils. 

Care  of  the  crop. — The  crop  should  be  harrowed 
much  the  same  as  other  cereals.  What  was  said  with 
reference  to  harrowing  wheat  will  apply  about  equally 
to  the  harvesting  of  speltz. 

Harvesting. — Speltz  should  be  harvested  while  the 
stems,  except  below  the  head  and  near  the  ground,  have 
not  yet  assumed  a  decidedly  yellowish  tint.  The  hazard 
from  loss  in  harvesting  comes  from  the  breaking  of  the 
heads  of  over-ripe  grain.  The  binder  is  used  in  harvesting 
the  crop  and  the  grain  is  generally  cured  in  the  round 
shock.  It  is  threshed  in  the  ordinary  way.  The  yields 
run  all  the  way  from,  say,  10  to  70  bushels  per  acre,  with 
an  average  somewhere  between  25  and  35  bushels. 

GROWING  PEAS 

This  crop  will  have  an  important  mission  in  the  semi- 
arid  country  when  its  merits  shall  have  become  generally 
known  in  the  same.  But  its  adaptation  is  by  no  means 
equal  for  all  parts  of  this  area.  It  will  grow  much  bet- 
ter on  the  loam  soils  of  the  cool  and  elevated  plateaus 
than  on  the  silty  soils  of  the  hot  valleys,  in  the  absence 
of  irrigation.  It  will  be  grown  for  the  grain,  for  forage, 
for  swine  pasture  and  for  fertilization. 

Soils. — Loam  soils,  mild  and  moist,  have  high  adap- 
tation for  peas,  but  they  will  also  give  good  returns  in 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        263 

sandy  loams ;  that  is,  sandy  soils  with  enough  of  the  clay 
element  in  them  to  make  them  retentive  of  moisture  are 
specially  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  this  crop.  They 
will  fail  on  loose  and  coarse  sands  and  gravels  under  dry 
conditions. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Where  the  rainfall  is  less  than 
15  inches,  peas  will  give  the  best  returns  by  far  from 
summer-fallowed  land  that  has  grown  a  cultivated  crop. 
But  where  the  rainfall  approaches  18  to  20  inches,  peas 
may  be  made  to  follow  a  grain  crop"  of  the  previous  year, 
regardless  of  the  character" of  the  same.  They  grow  well 
on  sod  that  has  a  fair  amount  of  moisture  in  it,  whether 
of  new  or  older  breaking,  but  the  best  returns  will  come 
when  the  sod  has  been  prepared  on  the  summer-fallow 
plan.  Usually  this  crop  may  be  followed  by  small  grain, 
whether  grown  in  the  usual  way  or  as  a  cultivated  crop, 
but  when  grown  by  the  latter  method  the  results  will  be 
much  more  satisfactory  from  the  grain  crop.  Peas,  from 
their  recumbent  habit  of  growth  in  the  later  stages 
thereof,  act  somewhat  as  a  mulch  and  thus  far  they  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  soil  moisture. 

Preparing  the  soil. — When  grown  on  fallow  land, 
the  preparation  of  the  soil  is  the  same  as  for  wheat  (see 
p.  218).  When  grown  after  small  grain,  the  aim  should 
be  to  prepare  the  land  by  plowing  and  harrowing  or  by 
discing.  The  plowing  and  harrowing  should  be  done 
in  the  autumn,  but  to  this  method  there  may  be  the  ex- 
ception of  first  sowing  the  peas  and  then  burying  them 
with  the  plow,  a  method  that  is  sometimes  followed  when 
the  rainfall  is  reasonably  copious. 

Sowing. — The  varieties  to  sow  will  depend  some- 
what on  the  object  for  which  the  crop  is  grown.  When 
grown  for  the  grain,  what  is  designated  as  the  Canada 
field  pea  of  one  of  the  small  varieties  is  usually  sown. 
This  may  mean  that  the  variety  may  be  the  Mummy,  the 
Golden  Vine,  the  Prussian  Blue,  or  some  other  of  the 


264  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

many  varieties  of  the  Canadian  peas  that  are  grown. 
The  colors  embraced  will  be  white,  yellow,  gray  or  blue, 
according  to  the  variety  grown.  The  Mexican  is  some- 
times sown  in  the  higher  mountain  valleys  to  provide 
grazing.  When  sown  for  plowing  under  to  enrich  the 
land,  the  large  Marrowfat  varieties  will  best  serve  the 
purpose.  When  garden  varieties  are  grown,  especially 
in  the  absence  of  irrigation,  the  dwarf  and  early  matur- 
ing varieties  will  probably  give  the  best  results. 

Peas  should  be  sown  early,  as  early  in  the  season 
as  the  ground  is  in  condition  for  being  worked.  Late 
sowing  has  been  the  cause  of  many  failures  in  the  at- 
tempt to  grow  peas.  Only  when  sown  on  irrigated  land 
and  when  the  crop  is  to  be  buried  as  a  fertilizer  will  it 
be  in  order  to  sow  the  crop  late.  Under  dry  conditions 
such  sowing  would  result  in  certain  failure. 

Ordinarily  the  crop  is  sown  with  the  grain  drill. 
When  thus  sown,  it  should  be  buried  deeply.  This  is  im- 
portant because  of  the  favorable  bearing  which  it  has 
upon  resistance  to  drought.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  use 
a  drill  that  will  break  the  peas  in  the  act  of  sowing  them. 
They  may  be  covered  by  discing  when  drill  sowing  is  not 
possible.  The  common  harrow  does  not  provide  a  suf- 
ficiently deep  covering  for  the  peas.  A  shower  following 
such  a  covering  will  uncover  many  of  the  peas.  When 
sowing  the  garden  varieties  they  are  frequently  put  in 
with  a  hand  drill,  but  may  be  sown  with  a  grain  drill  by 
using  only  such  of  the  spouts  as  may  be  necessary.  In 
some  instances,  double  rows  are  planted,  making  the  two 
rows  thus  planted  about  6  inches  apart.  The  distance 
between  the  rows,  single  or  double,  is  from  30  to  42 
inches,  according  to  the  variety.  They  should  be  far 
enough  apart  to  admit  of  easy  cultivation. 

Field  peas  are,  in  some  instances,  sown  thus,  but 
whether  it  will  pay  better  to  grow  them  thus  than  in 
the  ordinary  way,  under  average  conditions  of  growth. 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        265 

has  yet  to  be  proved.  When  sown  broadcast,  and  plowed 
tinder,  the  seed  should  be  harrowed  before  the  land  is 
plowed,  lest  the  peas  should  lodge  in  rows  correspond ir.t\ 
to  the  width  of  the  plow  furrows  when  this  work  is 
done.  They  may  also-  be  buried,  lightly  with  a  drill  be- 
fore the  land  is  thus  plowed. 

The  depth  to  which  the  seed  will  be  sown  depends 
on  the  soil  and  the  method  of  sowing.  The  aim  should 
be  to  plant  the  peas  deeply,  as  deeply,  as  a  rule,  as  3  to  5 
inches,  not  only  to  enable  the  crop  the  better  to  with- 
stand drought,  but  also  to  make  practicable  the  careful 
and  thorough  harrowing  of  the  ground  before  the  crop 
is  up.  When  it  is  to  be  irrigated,  planting  thus  deeply 
is  not  a  necessity. 

The  amount  of  seed  to  sow  will  depend :  first,  on 
the  normal  amount  of  rainfall ;  second,  on  thex  kind  of 
the  peas ;  third,  on  the  method  of  sowing,  and,  fourth,  on 
the  object  for  which  the  crop  is  grown.  Where  the 
normal  rainfall  is  about  15  inches,  about  5  pecks  per 
acre  of  the  small  varieties  will  suffice  for  sowing  the 
crop  in  the  usual  way.  When  sown  in  rows  for  being 
cultivated,  from,  say,  1-3  to  1-2  the  usual  amount  should 
prove  ample.  When  small  dwarf  varieties  are  sown,  as 
much  as  1  to  2  bushels  are  sometimes  sown  in  drills 
that  are  to  be  cultivated,  but  the  latter  amount  would 
seem  to  be  excessive  for  such  sowing.  From  25  to  50 
per  cent,  more  seed  is  usually  called  for  when  very  large 
peas  are  sown  as  compared  with  those  of  ordinary*  size. 
When  the  crop  is  grown  for  burial,  more  seed  may  be 
used  than  if  grown  for  the  grain,  especially  when  the 
crop  is  to  be  irrigated. 

Care  of  the  crop. — The  aim  should  be  to  thoroughly 
harrow  the  ground  while  the  peas  are  yet  from  1  to  2 
inches  short  of  the  surface.  This,  in  ground  possessed  of 
numerous  weed  seeds,  is  important,  as  subsequent  to 
the  appearance  of  the  plant  above  ground,  if  the  crop 


266  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

should  be  harrowed,  the  work  must  be  done  in  a  cautious 
way,  otherwise  it  may  harmed  more  than  benefited. 
When  planted  in  rows  wide  enough  for  cultivating  be- 
tween them,  such  cultivation  may  be  given  as  soon  as 
the  line  of  the  row  can  be  distinctly  traced.  It  should 
be  sufficiently  frequent  to  keep  the  land  clean  and  to 
prevent  the  escape  of  moisture.  It  cannot  be  continued 
longer  than  the  period  when  the  peas  become  recumbent. 
This  period  is  hastened  or  retarded  by  the  kind  of  pea, 
and  the  character  of  the  wind  and  rain  storms.  The  short, 
stocky  garden  varieties  stand  best  against  the  influences 
of  storms  and  may,  therefore,  be  cultivated  for  a  longer 
period  than  tall-growing  varieties.  The  garden  varieties 
are  usually  gone  over  once  by  hand,  to  remove  from 
the  rows  any  plants  of  a  different  variety  that  may  be 
present. 

Harvesting. — Peas  are  ready  for  being  harvested 
when,  say,  the  lower  two-thirds  of  the  pods  are  fully  ripe. 
When  cut  at  this  stage  of  maturity,  the  straw  makes  excel- 
lent fodder,  when  cured  in  the  absence  of  rain.  When  the 
crop  is  grown  for  the  grain  and  also  for  the  straw,  it  is 
best  harvested  by  the  aid  of  a  pea-harvester,  that  is,  an 
attachment  fastened  on  the  cutter  bar  of  a  field  mower. 
This  attachment  has  guards  which  run  under  the  pros- 
trate vines  and  lift  them  up  so  that  the  knives  can  cut 
them.  Two  work  hands  follow  and  bunch  them  with 
the  aid  of  forks,  at  the  same  time  lifting  the  bunches  out 
"of  the  way  of  the  horses  that  draw  the  mower.  In,  say, 
two  days  of  good  weather  they  may  be  drawn  and 
threshed  or  stacked,  as  may  be  desired.  In  the  Plains 
country  they  should  be  at  once  lifted  when  dry,  lest 
the  winds  should  carry  the  bundles  far  over  the  unfenced 
country.  The  stacks  will  not  withstand  rain  as  some  crops 
do,  unless  topped  out  with  some  more  resistant  sub- 
stance. 


GROWING  GRAIN  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS        267 

The  field  crop  is  threshed  by  the  ordinary  grain 
thresher,  but  in  order  to  prevent  breaking  the  peas  the 
concaves  are  removed  and  replaced  with  others  made  of 
strong  wood,  as  oak,  and  which  are  furnished  with  only 
a  few  teeth.  Careful  attention  must  also  be  given  to 
the  regulation  of  the  speed  in  threshing.  In  this  way 
the  breaking  of  the  peas  may  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

In  some  instances  field  peas  are  harvested  by  the 
use  of  the  old-fashioned  revolving  horse  rake.  The  ob- 
jection to  this  mode  of  harvesting  is,  first,  the  extent 
to  which  the  straw  becomes  impregnated  with  dust,  thus 
lessening  its  feeding  value,  and,  second,  the  extent  to 
which  the  peas  are  shelled  in  the  process  of  harvesting 
They  may  also  be  harvested  by  the  use  of  the  ordinary 
horse  rake,  but  the  loss  from  shelling  when  thus  har- 
vested is  also  very  considerable.  On  small  areas  a  farmer 
may  cut  them  or  pull  them,  as  the  phrase  is  ordinarily 
termed,  with  the  scythe,  and  may  use  the  old-fashioned 
flail  in  threshing  them.  In  this  way  the  farmer  may 
grow  his  own  seed  more  cheaply  than  he  can  buy  it. 
The  average  yield  is  about  20  bushels  per  acre.  Maxi- 
mum yields  are,  say,  45  bushels. 

Field  peas  may  also  be  harvested  by  sheep  and  swine 
in  the  semi-arid  country.  This  is  made  easily  practicable 
by  the  dry  weather  at  the  harvest  season.  When  the  ma- 
tured crop  is  thus  grazed  off  by  sheep  or  lambs,  it  is 
usual  to  sow  some  oats  with  the  peas.  This  aids  in  sus- 
taining them,  and  in  consequence  the  waste  is  less  than 
it  would  otherwise  be.  This  method  of  harvesting  the 
crop  is  ^regularly  practised  in  the  San  Luis  valley  of 
Colorado,  and  it  is  capable  of  being  extended  to  many 
mountain  valleys  in  the  semi-arid  country.  One  acre 
of  peas  thus  grown  has  been  found  capable  of  sustaining 
say,  10  lambs  while  being  fattened.  The  sheep  and  lambs 
are  turned  in  on  the  crop  a  soon  as  it  has  reached  early 
maturity.  The  plan  which  divides  the  area  by  the  use 


268  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

of  movable  hurdles  finds  most  favor  when  this  crop  is 
being  grazed.  Any  waste  through  shelling  may  be  vir- 
tually avoided  by  allowing  swine  to  follow  the  sheep 
as  gleaners.  This  method  of  harvesting  insures  the 
consumption  of  the  greater  portion  of  the  entire  crop. 

The  pea  crop  may  also  be  harvested  by  swine.  When 
thus  harvested,  the  crop  may  be  sown  alone  better  than 
with  other  grain.  The  swine  may  be  allowed  to  feed 
upon  the  crop  beginning  with  the  early  stage  of  ripening 
and  continuing  the  same  until  the  crop  is  consumed. 
The  last  of  the  gleaning  should  be  done  by  other  swine 
that  are  not  being  fattened  during  the  process  of  glean- 
ing. The  straw  will  be  lost  for  feeding  uses  by  such 
gleaning.  The  dry  harvest  season  in  the  semi-arid  coun- 
try makes  such  gleaning  entirely  practicable. 

When  the  crop  is  grown  to  furnish  seed  for  table 
use,  it  may  be  harvested  with  the  pea-harvester  as  out- 
lined above,  or  it  may  be  cut  with  a  bean  harvester. 
The  threshing  is  very  frequently  done  by  using 
the  same  machine  that  is  used  in  threshing  beans  (see 
p.  299). 

When  the  crop  is  grown  to  provide  green  manure,  it 
may  be  sown  on  irrigated  land  that  is  to  be  summer-fal- 
lowed the  same  season.  The  -sowing  should  take  place 
quite  early.  The  crop  should  be  buried  when,  coming 
into  bloom,  and  a  spring  cereal  crop  will  usually  be  made 
to  follow.  On  such  land,  the  food  furnished  by  such  a 
crop  is  usually  considered  too  valuable  for  such  burial. 
When  sown  on  irrigated  land  for  such  a  use,  the  peas 
are  usually  sown  after  a  grain  crop  has  been  harvested 
for  the  season.  Where  the  seed  is  home  grown  and 
cheap,  this  method  of  adding  vegetable  matter  and  fer- 
tility to  the  land  is  very  satisfactory. 


CHAPTER  XII 
GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

In  all  areas  where  the  rainfall  is  less  than  could  be 
desired,  the  growing  of  cultivated  crops  will  always  have 
a  relatively  important  place.  This  arises  in  part  from  the 
degree  of  the  certainty  with  which  these  crops  may  be 
grown  with  success,  and  in  part  from  the  excellent  prepa- 
ration which  they  make  for  the  growing  of  the  small 
grains  that  follow  them  in  the  rotation. 

The  more  important  of  the  crops  that  must  always 
be  given  cultivation  in  these  areas  to  grow  them  at  their 
best  are:  (1)  corn;  (2)  the  sorghums;  (3)  potatoes;  (4) 
field  beans ;  (5)  field  roots,  and  (6)  artichokes.  These 
are  probably  valuable  in  the  order  named.  Of  course, 
various  other  valuable  plants,  as  alfalfa,  are  given  more 
or  less  cultivation  during  the  period  of  their  growth,  but 
when  growing  them  cultivation  is  not  always  impera- 
tively necessary. 

GROWING  CORN 

Beyond  all  question,  corn  is  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant cultivated  crop  that  will  ever  be  grown  in  the  semi- 
arid  country.  The  great  significance  of  the  crop  for 
such  areas  lies  iri  the  fact,  first,  that  it  will  be  the  most 
important  source  of  fodder  obtainable,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  alfalfa ;  second,  that  it  is  the  surest  important 
crop  obtainable  from  spring-plowed  land  and  from  land 
that  has  produced  a  crop  of  small  grain  the  previous 
year;  and,  third,  that  a  crop  of  small  grain  may  be  grown 
after  corn  which  will  give  a  fair  return  almost  any 
season.  This  crop  will  be  grown  for  the  fodder  alone, 
for  fodder  and  grain  combined,  and  for  the  grain  alone. 
For  the  fodder  only  it  will  be  grown  under  climatic  con- 
ditions that  will  not  properly  mature  the  crop  because 


270  DRY  LAND  FARMING, 

of  high  latitude  or  altitude.  For  the  combined  purpose 
the  chief  aim  sought  in  growing  it  will  be  fodder.  But 
the  more  grain  'that  it  will  grow  in  addition  to  the  fod- 
der, the  more  valuable  will  it  be.  For  the  grain  only  or 
mainly,  it  will  be  grown  to  provide  food  for  swine  that 
will  harvest  it  in  the  field,  and  in  some  instances,  in  the 
more  favorable  locations,  the  ears  will  be  snapped  from 
the  standing  crop  as  is  done  in  the  corn  belt.  For  the 
fodder  and  grain  combined,  it  may  be  grown  in  paying 
quantities  in  the  most  northerly  sections  of  the  United 
States,  up  to  the  elevation  of  4,000  to  4,500  feet.  Farther 
south  it  may  be  grown  at  an  altitude  higher  in  propor- 
tion as  it  is  farther  south.  The  area  devoted  to  the  grow- 
ing of  corn  in  the  near  future  will  probably  be  second 
only  to  that  devoted  to  the  growth  of  wheat. 

Soils. — Corn  will  grow  on  any  soil  well  adapted  to 
wheat.  -This  means  that  it  will  grow  under  proper  con- 
ditions on  nearly  all  the  bench  lands  of  the  semi-arid 
west,  save  on  lands  that  are  impregnated  with  alkali.  It 
will  also  grow  on  lands  which  contain  a  quantity  of 
humus  in  excess  of  the  need  of  the  wheat  crop.  The 
soils  with  highest  adaptation  for  the  growth  of  corn  are 
rich,  friable  loams.  Sandy  loams  are  even  better  adapted 
relatively  to  the  growth  of  corn  than  to  the  growth  of 
wheat.  Stiff  clays,  leachy  gravels  and  alkali  lands  are 
ill  adapted  to  the  growth  of  this  plant. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Corn  may  be  given  any  place 
in  the  rotation.  Generally  speaking,  however,  it  would 
not  be  wise  to  grow  corn  on  summer-fallowed  land  or 
after  a  cultivated  crop,  as  ground  thus  prepared  is  usually 
wanted  in  order  to  grow  upon  it  crops  of  small  grain.  It 
is  one  of  the  best  crops  to  grow  on  sod  land,  whether 
new  breaking  or  sod  formed  by  tame  grasses  or  by  clo- 
vers, including  alfalfa.  It  is  also  one  of  the  safest  crops 
to  grow  after  small  grain.  There  are  conditions,  doubt- 
less, in  which  the  moisture  supply  may  be  too  small 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  271 

after  such  grain  to  grow  a  crop  of  corn,  but  this  will 
seldom  occur.  Such  a  result  need  not  be  feared  with 
a  rainfall  of  12  to  15  inches  on  land  properly  prepared, 
providing  the  larger  proportion  of  the  rainfall  is  in  the 
growing  season.  The  place  more  commonly  assigned  to 
corn  will  doubtless  be  after  small  grain. 

Corn  should  almost  invariably  be  followed  by  small 
grain  or  by  alfalfa.  The  moisture  conserved  by  the  culti- 
vation given  to  the  corn  insures  the  success  of  the  grain 
crop  when  it  is  properly  grown.  It  would  be  safe  to 
say  that  where  the  rainfall  is  from  12  to  15  inches,  as 
good  crops  of  small  grains  may  be  obtained  after  corn 
as  after  the  bare-fallow.  Where  the  rainfall  is  between 
15  and  20  inches,  as  in  some  parts  of  the  Dakotas  and 
western  Canada,  the  grain  crops  that  follow  corn  are 
frequently  better  than  those  grown  on  fallow  land,  be- 
cause of  the  tendency  to  lodging  in  grain  grown  on  the 
latter. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  preparation  that  puts  the 
land  in  the  best  condition  for  growing  a  crop  of  corn 
will  depend  on  the  place  given  to  this  crop  in  the  rotation. 
When  corn  is  planted  on  new  breaking  or  on  any  kind  oi 
sod  land,  the  best  crops  will  be  obtained  from  land  that 
has  been  broken  the  previous  year  and  handled  on  the 
summer-fallowed  plan  (see  p.  168).  But  good  crops  of 
corn  may  be  usually  grown  on  such  land  when  spring- 
plowed,  providing  the  plowing  is  done  at  a  depth  that 
will  admit  of  making  a  fine  and  good  seed  bed,  and  that 
it  is  done  sufficiently  early  to  give  ample  time  for  making- 
such  a  seed  bed.  The  land  should  be  plowed  deeply,  not 
less  than  6  inches,  and  as  early  in  the  season  as  the  work 
can  be  profitably  done.  It  should  be  at  once  compressed, 
disced  and  harrowed,  so  as  to  make  about  3  inches  of 
fine  soil  on  the  surface.  When  the  land  is  plowed  thus 
deeply,  the  sods  will  be  buried  so  far  as  not  to  interfere 
seriously  with  the  after  processes  of  cultivation.  If 


272 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


moisture  is  reasonably  plentiful,  sod  land  may  be  plowed 
just  before  planting  the  corn,  and  the  results  may  be 
entirely  satisfactory,  as  the  grass  on  land  plowed  at  such 
a  time  aids  in  the  quick  decay  of  the  sod. 

The  homesteader  may,  and  does,  grow  corn  by  break- 
ing sod  land  shallow  and  strewing  the  seed  by  hand  in, 
say,  every  third  furrow.  Reasonably  good  crops  have 


DRY  LAND  FODDER  CORN,  GROWN  NEAR  BROADVIEW,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

been  grown  thus  and  without  any  further  labor  than  that 
of  dropping  the  seed,  which  soon  produces  growth  that 
comes  up  through  the  overturned  sod.  The  best  crops  of 
corn  cannot  be  obtained  from  planting  it  thus,  nor  does 
it  put  the  land  in  the  best  condition  for  the  crop  that  will 
follow.  When  corn  is  planted  thus,  every  care  should 
be  taken  to  disc  the  ground  and  smooth  the  surface  after 
the  corn  has  been  planted,  and  before  the  crop  has 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  273 

reached  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Even  though  further 
cultivation  should  be  omitted  the  ground  is  so  far  made 
capable  of  retaining  moisture. 

In  all  areas  where  the  land  has  been  cultivated  for  a 
term  of  years,  corn  will  generally  be  grown  after  a  crop 
of  small  grain.  When  it  is  thus  grown,  the  aim  should 
be  to  plow  the  ground  in  the  fall,  and  as  early  as  possible. 
It  may  be  advantageous,  as  when  there  is  some  moisture 
in  the  subsoil,  to  double  disc  it  as  soon  as  the  grain  has 
been  removed.  The  plowing  should  be  deep  and  the 
harrow  should  immediately  follow.  Subsoil  packing  of 
ground  thus  plowed  will  seldom  be  necessary.  In  the 
spring,  as  soon  as  the  season  will  admit  of  it,  the  land 
should  be  disced  and  harrowed,  and,  if  necessary,  should 
be  stirred  once  or  twice  again  with  the  harrow  at  in- 
tervals before  the  corn  is  planted.  If  the  land  cannot  be 
plowed  until  spring,  the  aim  should  be  to  plow  it  early 
and  deeply.  Subsurface  packing  will  then  be  in  order 
to  firm  the  seed  bed  below,  should  moisture  in  the  ground 
be  lacking  at  such  a  time.  Planting  corn  on  spring-- 
plowed  land  in  dry  areas  is  usually  much  more  hazard- 
ous than  on  autumn-plowed  land. 

If  farmyard  manure  is  applied,  this  is  best  done  be- 
fore the  land  is  plowed,  whether  in  the  autumn  or  the 
spring,  and  by  a  manure  spreader.  If  the  manure  is 
fresh  and  has  much  litter  admixed  with  it,  the  applica- 
tion should  be  light,  less  than  ten  loads  rather  than  more 
per  acre,  lest  the  straw  in  the  manure  should  maintain 
too  porous  a  condition  of  the  soil.  When  the  manure  is 
possessed  of  a  small  amount  of  litter,  it  may  be  applied 
on  autumn-plowed  land  at  any  time  subsequent  to  the 
plowing,  and  incorporated  with  the  surface  soil  when  the 
seed  bed  is  being  prepared. 

When  manure  can  be  thus  applied,  the  benefits  are 
speedily  apparent.  The  time  has  not  yet  arrived  for  the 


274  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

discussion  of  fertilizers  for  corn  in  the  semi-arid  west, 
as  the  need  for  these  has  been  but  little  felt. 

Planting. — It  cannot  be  said  with  the  assurance  of 
certainty  at  the  present  time  which  are  the  best  corns 
for  each  particular  section  of  the  dry  country.  This  can 
only  be  determined  by  experiment,  and  the  time  for  such 
experimentation  has  not  been  sufficiently  long.  A  few 
years  hence  much  more  will  be  known  with  reference  to 
varieties  and  their  adaptation  for  dry  areas  than  is  known 
at  the  present  time. 

It  would  seem  correct  to  say,  however,  that  four 
distinct  classes  of  corn  will  be  found  suitable  for  the 
semi-arid  country.  These  are:  (1)  flint  corns;  (2)  dent 
corns;  (3)  sweet  corns,  and  (4)  flour  corns.  The  flint 
corns  are  best  adapted  to  extreme  northern  conditions. 
The  dent  corns  have  adaptation  to  conditions  less  severe. 
The  sweet  corns  may  be  grown  over  a  wider  area  than 
the  flint  or  dent  varieties,  and  the  flour  corns  are  best 
suited  to  southern  conditions.  Varieties  may  yet  be 
evolved  with  more  complete  adaptation  to  the  environ1 
ments  of  each  locality  than  those  that  are  now  grown. 

When  determining  as  to  the  variety  that  shall  be 
grown,  the  object  sought  in  growing  the  crop  should  be 
carefully  considered.  If  grain  is  the  principal  object 
sought,  the  fodder  being  a  secondary  object,  those  vari- 
eties should  be  grown  which  will  give  the  largest  yields 
under  the  average  prevalent  conditions.  But  if  fodder  is 
the  primary  object,  then  varieties  should  be  grown  which 
will  give  the  largest  amount  of  good  fodder.  The  more 
grain  production  that  can  be  linked  with  such  fodder 
production,  the  more  valuable  will  be  the  fodder  thus 
produced. 

In  northern  areas  the  best  varieties  for  producing 
grain  include  the  Squaw  corn,  the  Gehu  and  Golden  dent. 
The  Squaw  corn  is  a  low-growing  variety,  grown  by 
the  Indians,  long  years  ago.  It  is  a  flint  corn,  white  in 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  275 

color  and  very  dwarfish  in  its  habits  of  growth.  It  is 
peculiarly  well  adapted  to  dry  areas.  The  Gehu  is  some- 
what larger  and  is  also  a  white  dent.  The  Golden  dent 
is  still  larger  than  the  Gehu.  All  these  varieties  mature 
in  less  than  90  days  under  average  conditions  of  growth. 
They  are  too  dwarfish,  however,  in  their  habits  o/ 
grcnvth  to  render  them  valuable  for  the  production  of 
fodder.  They  also  produce  ears  so  near  the  ground  that 
they  cannot  be  harvested  satisfactorily  with  the  aid  of 
the  .corn  binder.  In  those  areas  the  best  varieties  for 
fodder  mainly,  will  include  the  Mercer  flint,  the  Triumph, 
also  a  flint  corn,  and  the  Northwestern  dent.  The  last 
named  produces  grain  with  a  reddish  tint.  It  is  more 
grown  for  fodder  at  the  present  time  than  any  variety 
grown  in  the  northwestern  states.  These  varieties  will 
mature  inside  of  100  days  and  they  will  produce  from  2 
to  3  tons  per  acre  of  cured  fodder. 

In  the  central  states  of  the  dry  belt  such  varieties 
as  the  Minnesota  No.  13  and  Stowell's  Evergreen  sweet 
will  give  results  that  should  prove  satisfactory,  when 
these  are  properly  grown.  The  former  should  be  grown 
primarily  for  the  grain,  and  the  latter  for  the  fodder. 
Both  varieties  will  mature  in  about  100  days.  Other  varie- 
ties will  also  give  good  results,  as  for  instance,  the  Pride 
of  the  North.  But  the  best  varieties  are  yet  to  be  evolved. 

In  southern  areas  of  the  dry  belt  larger  varieties 
and  of  slower  maturity  may  be  grown,  but  in  the  semi- 
arid  areas  of  the  south  it  will  doubtless  be  found  that 
some  of  the  non-saccharine  sorghums  will  better  meet 
the  needs  of  the  farmer  than  corn  because  of  their  great- 
er ability  to  grow  under  dry  conditions.  These  include 
Kafir  corn  and  Milo  maize  (see  p.  285). 

When  corn  is  grown  primarily  for  fodder  in  dry 
areas,  a  variety  should  be  preferred  that  will  furnish  a 
fair  amount  of  fodder,  that  is  leafy  in  its  habit  of  growth, 
that  will  mature  in  the  interval  between  the  last  killing 


276  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

frosts  of  spring  and  the  first  killing  frosts  of  autumn, 
and  that  will  make  sufficient  growth  to  admit  of  being 
harvested  by  the  aid  of  the  corn  harvester  without  break- 
ing off  a  large  percentage  of  the  ears,  and  that  will  ma- 
ture nubbins  which  will  add  materially  to  the  value  of 
the  corn  fodder.  At  the  present  time,  it  would  be  hazard- 
ous to  say  which  variety  will  best  meet  all  these  con- 
ditions, but  it  is  correct  to  say  that  Northwestern  dent 
is  more  generally  grown  than  any  other  variety. 

The  time  for  planting  corn  will,  of  course,  vary  with 
latitude  and  altitude.  Near  to  the  Canadian  boundary 
it  will  be,  say,  May  15th  to  June  1st.  When  corn  is 
planted  later,  it  is  much  liable  to  be  injured  by  September 
frosts  in  the  autumn.  In  the  latitude  named,  corn  planted 
as  early  as  the  middle  of  May  is  more  or  less  liable 
to  be  cut  down  by  frosts,  but  even  so  it  is  better  to  have 
growth  thus  retarded  by  frost  in  the  spring  than  to  have 
the  crop  injured  by  frost  in  the  autumn.  In  the  north- 
western states  the  crop  is  much  less  harmed  by  such  a 
visitation  than  in  the  corn  belt,  owing  probably  to  the 
much  greater  inherent  hardihood  of  the  varieties  grown. 
These  varieties  will  also  be  less  harmed  by  planting 
them  in  a  soil  not  yet  warmed  and  in  weather  that  is 
still  cold.  This  may  arise  first,  from  the  inherent  vigor 
of  the  seed,  and  second,  from  peculiarities  of  soil  and  at- 
mospheric conditions.  Those  who  plant  corn,  therefore, 
should  not  be  deterred  from  planting  because  of  lack  of 
complete  propitiousness  of  the  weather  when  the  proper 
time  arrives  for  planting.  Going  southward  the  season 
for  planting  advances.  Near  the  Mexican  boundary  it 
may  be  planted  in  April,  the  time  varying  with  the  alti- 
tude. 

The  method  of  planting  will  depend:  (1)  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  soil  as  to  the  presence  or  the  absence  of 
weed  growth;  (2)  on  the  object  for  which  the  corn  is 
chiefly  grown,  and  (3)  on  the  crop  that  is  to  follow  the 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  277 

corn.  When  weeds  are  abundant,  the  cultivation  and 
therefore  destruction  of  weeds  will  be  more  complete 
when  it  is  planted  in  hills.  The  retention  of  soil  mois- 
ture may  also  be  secured  in  larger  degree,  since  a  rela- 
tively larger  area  of  the  surface  is  stirred  when  cultiva- 
tion can  be  given  more  than  one  way,  which  is  the  case 
in  hill  planting.  When  the  corn  is  planted  to  produce 
ears  mainly,  it  is  usually  planted  in  hills,  but  may  also  be 
planted  in  drills.  When  it  is  grown  chiefly  for  fodder,  it 
is  usually  planted  in  drills,  because  of  the  greater  facility 
with  which  it  may  be  harvested  with  the  corn  harvester, 
but  it  may  also  be  planted  in  hills.  When  planted  in  drills, 
the  grain  drill  may  usually  be  made  to  do  the  work  with- 
out investment  in  other  machinery,  and  this  fact  furnishes 
a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  drill  planting.  When 
corn  is  to  be  followed  by  winter  wheat  or  winter  rye,  the 
stalks  or  a  portion  of  them  being  left  to  protect  the 
grain  in  winter,  the  corn  that  has  been  grown  in  drills 
will  furnish  the  most  complete  protection. 

When  planted  in  hills,  the  use  of  the  check-rower 
is  indispensable  where  large  areas  are  to  be  grown. 
vSmall  areas  may  be  planted  with  the  hand  planter,  after 
the  ground  has  first  been  marked  off  in  squares  with  some 
kind  of  marker.  The  hills  are  usually  made  3^  feet  apart 
each  way.  When  planted  in  drills  the  ordinary  grain 
drill  is  commonly  used,  but  the  horse  corn-planter  may 
also  be  used.  Only  those  drill  tubes  should  be  used  which 
will  plant  the  corn  at  a  suitable  distance  between  the 
rows.  The  distance  most  in  favor  is  8^2  feet,  as  in  the 
case  of  hills.  In  dry  areas  and  especially  in  the  north- 
erly portions  of  the  same,  it  is  not  necessary  to  have 
as  much  distance  between  the  hills  or  rows  as  in  areas 
more  favorable  to  large  growth.  Especially  in  the 
northern  portions  of  the  semi-arid  belt,  the  habit  of 
growth  in  corn  is  more  or  less  dwarfish  relatively.  The 


278  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

openings  into  the  tubes  not  wanted  may  be  closed  by 
covering  them  with  a  sack  or  some  such  material. 

Corn  may  usually  be  planted  to  the  depth  of,  say, 
2  to  3  inches.  With  ample  moisture  in  the  soil  the  shal- 
lower planting  would  seem  to  be  preferable.  But  to  in- 
sure germination,  there  are  instances  in  which  the  plant- 
ing would  be  even  deeper  than  3  inches.  The  more 


THE  SURFACE  CULTIVATOR. 
Courtesy  Deere  &  Webber  Co.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 

light  and  porous  the  soil,  the  deeper  may  be  the  planting 
of  the  seed. 

The  amount  of  seed  to  plant  will  vary:  (1)  with  the 
kind  of  corn ;  (2)  the  use  that  is  to  be  made  of  the  crop, 
and  (3)  the  normal  amount  of  the  precipitation.  The 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  279 

small-growing  varieties  of  corn  may  be  planted  more 
closely  than  those  that  are  larger.  As  corn  in  northerly 
areas  is  more  dwarfish  in  its  habits  of  growth  than  corn 
grown  southward,  it  may  be  planted  more  closely.  But 
such  planting  can  only  be  carried  so1  far,  in  areas  where 
moisture  may  be  deficient,  or  it  will  be  adverse  to 
growth  in  the  corn.  When  corn  is  grown  mainly 
for  the  fodder  the  planting  may  be  thicker  than  when 
grown  mainly  for  the  grain.  Usually  it  should  not  be 
grown  so  thickly,  however,  as  to  prevent  the  growth  of 
nubbins  on  the  stalks.  Experience  can  alone  determine 
this  in  each  locality.  In  very  dry  areas  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  plant  the  seed  so  distant  as  to  preclude  the  possi- 
bility of  securing  large  yields.  With  a  rainfall  of,  say, 
15  inches,  the  aim  should  be  to  have  not  fewer  than  4 
stalks  in  a  hill,  and  when  planted  in  drills  for  fodder,  the 
aim  should  be  to  have  from  4  to  8  inches  between  the 
plants. 

The  amount  of  seed  called  for  will  also  be  influenced 
by  the  size  of  the  seed.  For  hill  planting  less  than  one 
peck  will  usually  suffice  for  an  acre,  and  in  many  in- 
stances considerably  less.  P'or  drill  planting  as  much  as 
two  pecks  of  the  large  varieties'with  large  kernels  may  be 
called  for. 

In  dry  areas  many  growers  favor  planting  corn  by 
the  method  known  as  listing.  Furrows  are  opened  with 
a  plow  called  a  lister  and  the  seed  is  planted  in  the 
bottom  of  the  furrow  in  rows  or  in  hills.  The  chief 
advantage  claimed  for  the  system  is  that  it  starts  the 
corn  farther  from  the  surface  than  when  planted  in  the 
ordinary  way,  and  that  in  consequence  it  roots  in  a  more 
moist,  soil.  The  labor  involved  in  preparing  the  soil  is 
also  less.  The  cultivation  of  the  ground  is  usually  all 
given  after  the  corn  has  begun  to  grow.  Under  some  con- 
ditions better  crops  may  be  grown  thus  than  in  the  ordi- 
nary way.  The  chief  objection  to  the  system  is,  that 


280  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

should  heavy  rain  fall  soon  after  the  corn  is  planted, 
and  this  does  occur  occasionally;  it  may  wash  out  some 
of  the  seed  and  bury  more  of  it.  There  is  the  further 
objection  that  evaporation  for  a  time  at  least  will  take 
place  from  a  larger  surface  than  would  occur  in  level 
planting.  If  the  land  has  been  carefully  plowed  the 
previous  autumn,  the  advantage  to  be  gained  from  list- 
ing is  at  least  problematical. 

Care  of  the  crop. — In  nearly  all  instances  the  plan  is 
to  be  commended  which  harrows  corn  in  dry  areas  once 
or  twice  before  it  is  up.  If  but  one  harrowing  is  given, 
it  ought  to  be  given  usually  just  when  the  points  of  the 
corn  plants  are  ready  to  appear.  If  two  harrowings  are 
given,  the  first  should  occur  about  a  week  after  planting 
the  corn  under  normal  conditions  of  weather.  In  both 
instances  the  teeth  of  the  harrow  should  be  given  a  far 
enough  backward  slant  so  as  not  to  injure  the  sprouted 
corn.  Myriads  of  weeds  just  starting  into  life  will  thus 
be  destroyed.  Subsequent  to  the  appearance  of  the 
corn  plants,  one  or  two  harrowings  will  be  helpful,  but 
when  giving  them  care  should  be  taken  not  to  bury  the 
corn  plants,  which  is  much  liable  to  occur  if  the  crop  is 
harrowed  when  one  to  two  inches  high.  In  many  in- 
stances the  weeder  judiciously  used  will  do  the  work 
better  than  the  harrow.  Neither  the  harrow  nor  the 
weeder  should  be  used  on  ground  unduly  moist,  or  when 
the  corn  plants  are  wet  with  dew  or  rain.  The  grower  is 
in  the  best  position  to  determine  when  and  to  what  ex- 
tent harrowing  should  be  done. 

The  cultivator  should  follow  close  upon  ceasing  to 
use  the  harrow.  A  cultivator  that  will  take  in  two  or 
three  rows  should  be  used  where  large  areas  are  to  be 
cultivated.  The  objects  sought  from  cultivating  are: 
first,  to  destroy  weeds,  and,  second,  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  soil  moisture.  Ordinarily  such  cultivation  should  be 
level  and  shallow  lest  the  corn  roots  should  be  broken 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  281 


that  run  near  the  surface,  but  should  a  crust  form  below 
the  dust  mulch,  it  ought  to  be  broken  up  by  deeper  culti- 
vation. Usually  cultivation  does  not  continue  longer 
than  the  season  of  tasseling  in  the  corn,  but  in  dry 
weather  it  may  pay  well  to  continue  it  longer.  The  in- 
terval between  the  cultivations  must  be  determined  in 
a  great  measure  by  the  grower  on  clean  land.  No  advan- 


DRY  LAND  FODDER  CORN,  GROWN  NEAR  SHERWOOD,  N.  DAKOTA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

tage  can  result  from  cultivating  when  soil  moisture  is  not 
escaping  unduly.  It  is  seldom  necessary  to  cultivate 
more  frequently  than,  say,  each  10  to  14  days.  In  dry 
areas  late  cultivation  may  have  an  important  bearing  on 
the  crop  that  follows,  because  of  the  moisture  which  it 
may  save  to  the  soil. 

When  corn  is  listed  it  is  usually  advantageous  to 
use  on  the  crop,  during  the  growth  period,  the  harrow, 


282  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

the  weeder  and  the  cultivator,  and  in  the  order  named. 
The  harrow  attacks  weeds  that  may  be  starting  and 
gradually  works  soil  into  the  furrows  around  the  corn, 
which  in  time  are  rilled.  The  weeder  may  be  used  later. 
The  cultivating  is  much  the  same  as  for  other  corn. 

Harvesting. — Corn  may  be  harvested  in  semi-arid 
areas :  (1)  by  snapping  off  the  ears  ;  (2)  by  cutting,  shock- 
ing, and  then  husking;  (3)  by  cutting  and  curing  for 
feeding  without  husking,  that  is,  by  feeding  in  the 
bundle;  (4)  by  cutting  and  curing  in  the  silo;  (5)  by  al- 
lowing swine  to  consume  the  ears  from  the  uncut  stalks, 
and  (6)  by  grazing  it  off  with  sheep  when  mature. 

The  snapping  off  of  the  ears  by  hand  may  best  take 
place  when  some  dwarfish  kind  of  corn  has  been  grown 
on  ground  to  be  planted  to  winter  wheat,  the  wheat  being 
drilled  in  among  the  stalks  that  are  to  furnish  protection 
for  it  in  the  winter  season.  The  dwarfish  nature  of  the 
growth  may  interfere  with  harvesting  the  ears  otherwise 
than  by  hand  in  the  absence  of  sheep  and  swine.  In  dry 
areas  the  grazing  of  stalks  from  which  the  ears  have 
been  removed  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  profitable.  They 
become  so  dry  and  brittle  that  they  rank  low  in  palata- 
bility. 

When  the  corn  is  large  enough  to  cut  with  the  bind- 
er, the  ears  may  be  husked  in  the  ordinary  way  or  with 
the  aid  of  the  corn  shredder.  In  northern  areas  it  may 
not  be  easy  to  secure  enough  dryness  in  the  stalks  to 
make  it  easily  practicable  to  preserve  them  in  the  shred- 
ded form.  But  this  will  not  apply  to  corn  in  southern 
areas  of  the  dry  belt. 

In  dry  areas  corn  will  more  commonly  be  cut  with 
the  corn  harvester,  cured  in  the  shock  and  fed  in  the 
bundle  from  the  shock  or  from  the  stack.  The  great 
bulk  of  the  corn  crop  in  those  areas  will  be  harvested 
and  fed  in  this  way.  Where  the  snowfall  is  very  light,  it 
may  answer  quite  well  to  draw  and  feed  the  corn  from 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  283 


DRY  LAND  CORN,  ROSEBUD  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 


284  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

large  shocks  made  late  in  the  season  by  putting  a  num- 
ber of  small  ones  together.  Where  the  snowfall  is  con- 
siderable the  corn  should  be  drawn  and  stacked  in  very 
narrow  stacks  on  the  approach  of  winter.  They  may 
contain  but  two  lengths  of  sheaves  with  the  heads  lap- 
ping the  middle. 

In  areas  where  corn  possessed  of  considerable  bulk 
is  grown  it  may  be  cured  in  the  silo  if  so  desired.  It 
should  then  be  cut  when  beginning  to  glaze  and  should  be 
run  through  a  cutting  box  with  blower  attached  to  carry 
it  into  the  silo.  Where  the  bulk  obtained  from  the  variety 
grown  is  small,  it  will  not  pay  to  harvest  corn  thus. 

When  some  kind  of  corn  has  been  grown  with  a 
view  to  sow  wheat  in  it,  in  the  early  autumn,  it  may  be 
effectively  harvested  with  swine.  The  labor  of  harvesting 
is  thus  so  simplified  that  large  areas  may  be  grown  in 
this  way.  The  swine  may  begin  such  harvesting  as  soon 
as  the  ears  have  reached  the  roasting  stage. 

When  harvested  with  sheep  or  lambs,  the  grazing 
may  begin  at  a  similar  stage  in  the  growth  of  the  corn. 
Care  must  be  exercised  at  the  first  in  turning  in  both  the 
sheep  and  the  swine,  lest  they  should  eat  to  their  injury. 
This  method  of  harvesting  corn  would  seem  to  be  the 
most  economical  that  can  be  devised,  as  nothing  virtu- 
ally is  wasted  save  a  small  portion  of  the  base  of  the 
stalk.  Such  grazing  also  leaves  the  land  in  good  condi- 
tion for  the  grain  crop  that  follows.  It  is  specially  help- 
ful to  lands  so  light  as  to  blow.  The  treading  firms 
them  and  the  'stubs  of  the  stalks  to  some  extent  check 
the  force  of  the  winds. 

The  yields  of  the  grain  will  depend  much  on  the 
variety.  The  small  kinds,  as  the  Squaw,  should  furnish 
20  to  35  bushels  per  acre.  Larger  kinds  may  furnish 
40  to  50  when  well  grown.  Maximum  yields  will  seldom 
exceed  75  bushels.  The  yields  of  green  fodder  may  run 
all  the  way  from,  say,  5  to  15  tons  per  acre  with  an 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  285 

average  of,  say,  about  8  tons.  This  would  mean  an  aver- 
age of  about  2  tons  in  the  cured  form.  Of  course  un- 
der irrigation  in  the  warmer  valleys,  enormous  crops 
may  be  grown. 

GROWING  SORGHUMS 

The  sorghums  may  be  classified  as  sweet  and  non- 
sweet,  that  is  as  saccharine  and  non-saccharine.  The 
saccharine  sorghums  include  several  varieties.  The 
distinction  between  these  relates  more  especially  to 
growth  characteristics  and  more  particularly  to  such  of 
these  as  relate  to  maturity.  The  saccharine  sorghums  are 
of  the  same  class,  but  the  non-saccharine  are  of  sev- 
eral classes.  The  more  important  of  these  for  the  semi- 
arid  country  are  Milo  maize  of  the  class  known  as  Dhu- 
oras,  or,  as  sometimes  written,  Durras,  and  Kafir  corn. 
These  are  of  several  varieties.  The  sweet  sorghums 
are  of  tall  growth,  and  usually  sustain  a  dark  colored 
panicle  somewhat  spreading  in  character.  The  sweet 
character  of  the  fodder  makes  it  much  relished  by  live 
stock. 

Milo  maize  is  forging  to  the  front  as  one  of  the 
most  valuable  food  plants  southward  in  the  semi-arid 
region,  hence  it  is  worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  notice. 
This  plant,  at  one  time  very  tall,  is  now  so  dwarfed 
that  the  standard  sorts  average  about  4^  feet  in  height, 
and  the  dwarf  sorts  about  3^  feet.  The  advantage  from 
such  modification  in  the  handling  of  the  crop  will  be 
readily  apparent.  The  heads  of  Milo  maize  are  relatively 
large  and  compact.  When  the  stand  is  thin,  the  heads  be- 
come so  large  that  they  turn  down  by  their  own  weight, 
otherwise  they  stand  erect.  The  stalks  are  stout  and 
short  jointed.  The  roots  fill  the  soil  near  the  surface. 
When  moisture  is  lacking,  as  in  the  case  of  sorghum,  the 
plants  stop  growing  until  rains  come  again.  The  Durras 
are  valuable  as  both  fodder  and  grain  plants,  but  for  the 


286  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

latter  use  they  are  relatively  much  more  valuable  than 
lor  the  former.  As  a  food  for  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  swine 
and  poultry  the  grain  from  Milo  maize  is  nearly  as  valu- 
able as  the  food  from  corn.  It  may  be  grown  successfully 
save  on  the  high  elevations  from  the  northern  border  of 
Colorado  southward. 

The  Kafir  corns  are  less  tall  and  more  stocky  than 
the  sweet  sorghums.  They  sustain  erect,  compact  and 
stubby  heads.  They  are  more  succulent  in  the  stem  and 
leafy  in  the  growth  than  Milo  maize,  and  in  drought 
periods  they  retain  their  greenness  for  a  longer  period 
than  the  Milo  maize  plants,  hence  they  are  somewhat 
superior  to  these  for  fodder  uses. 

The  saccharine  sorghums  are  better  adapted  to 
northerly  areas  of  the  dry  belt  than  the  other  sorghums 
Above  the  parallel  of  45  they  do  less  well  than  corn,  and 
below  40  less  well  than  the  non-saccharine  sorghums. 
The  Dhuoras  may  be  successfully  grown  as  far  north- 
as,  say,  41,  on  the  lower  altitudes,  and  on  elevations  even 
higher  than  4,000  feet  in  southern  Colorado.  Kafir  corn 
calls  for  somewhat  warmer  seasons  and  requires  more 
time  in  which  to  mature  growth.  They  are  all  drought- 
resistant,  and  probably  in  the  following  order:  Kafir 
corn,  Milo  maize,  sorghum.  Each  of  these  may  cease  to 
grow  for  a  time  and  may  subsequently  continue  growth 
when  rain  has  added  sufficiently  to  the  moisture,  but 
Kafir  corn  is  best  able  to  endure  long  periods  of  drought 
and  to  recover  from  the  same.  The  seeds  of  all  of  these 
are  low  in  germinating  power,  and  the  plants  grow  but 
slowly  at  the  first.  They  should  not  be  planted  until 
both  soil  and  season  are  reasonably  warm. 

Other  sorghums  may  be  grown,  as,  for  instance, 
Jerusalem  corn,  rice  corn,  broom  corn,  and  Kaoling.  The 
latter  is  a  Chinese  grain  sorghum,  characterized  by  early 
maturing  qualities.  Shallu  is  a  sorghum  introduced'  by 
the  Louisiana  experiment  station  about  1890.  In  certain 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  287 

quarters  it  has  been  greatly  over-rated.  None  of  the 
sorghums  have  been  found  equal  in  all-round  adapta- 
bility to  sweet  sorghum,  Milo  maize  and  Kafir  corn. 

Soils. — All  the  sorghums  will  grow  well  on  the  aver- 
age soils  of  the  bench  land  country  and  also  of  the  river 
valleys  when  irrigated.  But  all  of  these  do  muchJbetter 
on  loam  soils  than  on  stiff  clays  and  on  light  lands.  The 
ability  to  grow  them  in  good  form  on  bench  lands  that 
will  grow  crops  of  grain  need  not  for  one  moment  be 
questioned.  On  alkali  soils  they  will  grow  as  well  or 
better  than  most  crops,  but  the  degree  of  the  alkali 
present  will,  of  course,  have  an  important  bearing  on  the 
results. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  place  in  the  rotation  for 
the  sorghums  is  not  far  different  from  the  place  assigned 
to  corn  (see  p.  270).  They  grow  especially  well  on  sod 
land  properly  prepared.  They  follow  grain  crops  rather 
than  the  bare-fallow,  as  in  the  case  of  corn ;  they  pre- 
pare the  land  for  a  grain  crop  when  cultivation  is  given 
to  them  while  they  are  growing.  They  draw  more 
heavily  on  the  moisture  near  the  surface  than  corn,  and 
this  is  so  far  adverse  to  the  growth  of  grain  where  mois- 
ture is  lacking.  The  natural  order  is,,  however,  that 
grain  crops  will  follow.  Where  the  moisture  is  not  too 
much  lacking,  they  may  alternate  from  year  to  year. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  seed  bed  for  all  the  sor- 
ghums should  be  deep,  fine  and  moist,  loose  above  and 
firm  below.  A  cloddy  seed  bed  is  specially  objectionable, 
since  it  is  unfavorable  to  germination,  which  is  natur- 
ally somewhat  weak  in  the  seed  of  all  the  sorghums. 
To  insure  such  a  seed  bed,  it  may  be  necessary  to  use  a 
planker  or  a  roller  when  preparing  the  ground. 

Stubble  land  should  usually  be  plowed  in  the  fall, 
and  discing  may  frequently  be  helpful  previous  to  the 
plowing.  If  the  land  is  not  plowed  until  the  spring,  it 
should  be  at  once  packed.  The  harrow  should  then  keep 


288 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


it  fine  and  clean  until  the  time  for  planting  the  seed. 
When  sod  land  is  plowed  in  the  spring,  the  aim  should 
be  to  make  a  loose  seed  bed  without  bringing  up  sods 
The  roller,  disc  and  harrow,  judiciously  used,  will  make 
such  a  seed  bed.  Good  crops  of  these  sorghums  have 
been  grown  by  turning  the  sod  over  carefully,  rolling  it 
down  smoothly  and  then  drilling  in  the  seed,  as  is  some- 
times done  with  the  flax  crop. 


DRY  LAND  SWEET  SORGHUM,  ROSEBUD  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

Sowing. — The  Early  Amber,  sometimes  called  the 
Minnesota  Amber,  is  the  best  variety  of  sorghum  to 
grow  in  northern  areas.  The  Early  Orange  does  better 
farther  south,  but  it  is  later  in  maturing  and  not  quite 
so  hardy.  The  Coleman  also  ranks  high  among  the 
sweet  sorghums.  There  are  two  types  of  maize,  the 
yellow  and  the  white.  The  yellow  varieties,  of  which 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  289 

there  are  several,  are  the  more  valuable.  The  extremes 
of  height  in  the  growth  of  these  have  been  put  at  2  to  12 
feet.  Both  extremes  should  be  avoided.  The  extremely 
dwarf  varieties  do  not  yield  sufficiently,  and  the  ex- 
tremely tall  varieties  are  illy  adapted  to  very  droughty 
conditions.  The  best  variety  of  Kafir  corn  is  the  black 
hulled  white.  The  stalks  are  leafy  and  the  yields  are 
relatively  good.  Red  Kafir  corn  is  also  much  grown, 
but  to  grow  it  calls  for  a  longer  season,  and  this  also  is 
true  of  the  white  variety.  The  aim  should  be  to  secure 
home-grown  and  acclimated  seed  in  all  instances. 

The  time  for  planting  the  seed  will,  of  course,  vary 
with  soil,  season,  latitude  and  altitude.  The  warmer  the 
soil,  the  earlier  the  season,  the  higher  the  latitude,  and 
the  lower  the  altitude,  the  earlier  may  these  crops  be 
planted.  But  they  should  not  be  planted  until  all  danger 
from  frost  is  past  and  until  the  weather  has  become  rea- 
sonably and  regularly  warm.  The  seeds  are  easily  injured 
in  their  germinating  power  by  being  planted  in  the  cold 
soil,  and  in  cool  weather.  The  time  for  planting  is  from 
two  to  three  weeks  later  than  would  be  suitable  for  corn 
(see  p.  274). 

When  the  sorghums  are  grown  mainly  for  seed,  un- 
der very  dry  conditions,  they  may  be  best  grown  in  hills, 
and  may  be  planted  with  the  hand-planter  or  the  check- 
rower  used  in  planting  corn.  For  hand-planting  the 
ground  should  first  be  marked  out  in  squares  3^  feet 
distant.  When  thus  planted,  the  cultivation  given  may 
be  more  thorough  than  if  the  seed  were  planted  in  rows. 
When  grown  mainly  for  fodder,  the  aim  should  be  to 
grow  the  crop  in  rows  and  usually  to  plant  the  same 
with  the  grain  drill.  The  rows  should  be  about  3%  feet 
distant.  Broadcast  planting  may  answer  where  the  rain- 
fall is  20  inches,  but  it  is  seldom  satisfactory  when  it  is 
15  inches  or  less. 


290  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  seed  should  seldom  be  buried  more  than  2  inches, 
but  in  some  instances  it  may  be  necessary  to  plant  it 
more  deeply  in  order  to  reach  moisture.  It  is  slow  to 
germinate,  and  this  fact  makes  it  possible  to  use  the  har- 
row with  considerable  freedom  before  the  plants  ap- 
pear. This  could  not  be  done  where  the  seed  had  been 
broadcasted  without  destroying  many  of  the  plants. 

The  amount  of  seed  to  plant  will  vary  from,  say,  3 
to  4  quarts  per  acre  to  1^  bushels.  The  latter  amount 
can  only  be  used  when  the  crop  is  grown  as  grain  hay 
is  grown,  and  in  areas  with  a  rainfall  approximating  or 
exceeding  20  inches  per  annum.  The  amount  of  seed 
used  should  be  carefully  adjusted  to  the  amount  of  mois- 
ture that  is  in  the  soil  and  that  may  be  expected  to  fall 
under  normal  conditions.  From,  say,  2  to  3  stalks  should 
be  the  minimum  number  in  the  hills,  and  in  the  rows 
the  plants  may  be  from,  say,  3  to  12  inches  distant. 

Care  of  the  crop. — The  harrow  or  weeder  should  be 
used  on  the  crop  once  or  twice  before  the  plants  appear. 
If  used  the  second  time  it  should  be  just  before  the  plants 
appear.  Thorough  and  careful  harrowing  at  such  a  time 
may  preclude  the  necessity  for  further  harrowing  until 
cultivation  begins,  but  there  are  instances  when  the  har- 
row or  the  weeder  may  be  used  with  profit  subsequently, 
but  not  usually  until  the  plants  have  reached  the  height 
of,  say,  3  to  4  inches.  The  cultivation  called  for  is  about 
the  same  as  that  which  will  best  meet  the  needs  of  the 
corn  crop  (see  p.  280). 

Harvesting. — Small  areas  of  the  sorghums  may  be 
harvested  by  hand  and  put  up  in  shocks  like  corn.  Large 
areas  may  be  cut  with  the  corn  harvester,  and,  under 
some  conditions,  with  the  grain  binder.  The  mower  is 
frequently  used  when  the  crop  is  grown  on  the  broad- 
cast plan.  When  thus  cut,  the  sorghum  is  put  up  in 
large  cocks,  and  in  these  it  remains  until  it  is  fed.  The 
sorghums  are  much  liable  to  heat  and  mold  in  the  stack. 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  291 

The  grain  is  sometimes  removed  by  cutting  or  snapping 
off  the  heads  by  hand,  at  other  times  by  using  the  header, 
and  yet  again  by  certain  forms  of  threshing.  Home 
supplies  of  seed  may  be  secured  by  removing  choice 
heads  and  suspending  them  beneath  a  roof  until  the 
season  for  planting  draws  near. 

The  yields  of  fodder  are  somewhat  greater  than  those 
of  corn,  as  their  adaptation  to  dry  conditions  is  higher. 
In  the  dry  form,  they  will  average  from,  say,  2  to  3 
tons  per  acre.  The  yields  of  grain  vary  greatly  with  *he 
season,  but  these  also  are  higher  than  those  produced 
by  corn  under  similar  conditions  of  growth.  Milo  maize 
produces  more  grain  than  the  other  sorghums.  Under 
favorable  conditions  of  growth,  an  average  of  40  bushels 
per  acre  has  frequently  been  obtained. 

GROWING  POTATOES 

The  potato  crop  is  one  of  the  surest  for  dry  land 
conditions.  There  are  instances  in  which  it  has  been 
grown  with  reasonable  success  for  many  successive  years 
where  the  annual  precipitation  is  not  more  than  12 
inches.  When  grown  under  dry  conditions,  the  potatoes 
are  of  higher  quality  than  when  grown  under  irrigation. 
When  grown  under  irrigation,  immense  yields  may  be 
obtained  from  judicious  culture,  but  the  tubers  are  more 
watery,  and  they  soon  become  less  valuable  for  seed  than 
those  grown  without  irrigation,  hence  the  demand  for 
such  potatoes  is  likely  to  continue  good.  The  best  cli- 
matic conditions  for  potatoes  are  found  in  the  northerly 
areas  of  the  semi-arid  belt  and  on  the  higher  elevations 
southward.  They  do  not  flourish  so  well  where  the 
climate  is  hot. 

Soils. — Sandy  loams  furnish  the  best  soils  for  po- 
tatoes, but  good  crops  may  be  obtained  from  any  rea- 
sonably good  loam  soil.  Stiff  clays  are  objectionable,  as 
much  labor  is  involved  in  order  to  bring  them  into  a  good 


292  DRY  LAND   FARMING 

condition  of  tilth.  The  potatoes  also  grow  more  slowly 
in  such  soils,  and  extra  labor  is  involved  in  harvesting 
the  crop. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Under  dry  conditions,  the  best 
crops  of  potatoes  may  be  obtained  from  sod  or  other 
land  managed  on  the  summer-fallowing  plan.  But  such 
land  can  seldom  be  spared  for  potatoes.  The  best  crops 
may  probably  be  obtained  by  breaking  sod  and  man- 
aging it  as  summer-fallow  the  season  of  breaking.  On 
this  the  crop  is  planted  the  following  spring,  in  some 
instances  without  further  plowing,  and  in  others  after 
it  has  been  deeply  plowed.  On  older  land  it  is  frequently 
made  to  follow  alfalfa  which  has  occupied  the  ground 
for  a  limited  number  of  years.  More  commonly,  how- 
ever, the  crop  is  grown  on  stubble  land,  manured  or  un- 
manured.  On  new  land  two  good  crops  may  be  grown 
in  succession,  in  the  absence  of  disease,  but  ordinarily 
the  potato  crop  should  be  followed  by  a  grain  crop  or  by 
a  seeding  to  alfalfa,  as  when  well  cared  for  it  leaves  the 
land  in  excellent  condition  for  these. 

Preparing  the  soil. — On  new  breaking,  or  even  on 
other  sod  land,  reasonably  good  crops  of  potatoes  have 
been  grown  by  simply  breaking  shallow  and  dropping 
the  sets  in,  say,  every  third  furrow  and  following  with 
the  roller  and  harrow,  and  without  any  cultivation  sub- 
sequently. One  strong  objection  to  this  method  is  the 
difficulty  found  in  harvesting  the  crop.  But  the  home- 
steader who  is  beginning  his  work  may  find  it  to  answer 
his  needs.  The  better  plan  is  to  plow  the  sod  to  a  depth 
of  6  inches  or  more,  to  make  a  good  seed  bed  on  it,  and  to 
plant  the  crop  in  the  same,  so  that  suitable  cultivation 
may  follow.  It  is  important  that  the  sods  shall  be  well 
buried  so  that  they  will  not  interfere  with  the  subse- 
quent cultivation.  When  grown  on  alfalfa  land,  it  is 
frequently  broken  in  the  spring  after  the  alfalfa  has  be- 
gun to  grow.  When  grown  on  stubble  land,  the  aim 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  293 

should  be  to  plow  in  the  fall,  and  deeply.  Where  the 
conditions  do  not  favor  such  plowing,  the 'work  may  be 
done  in  the  spring.  Potatoes  want  a  deep  seed  bed. 
Firming  the  lower  seed  bed  is  not  so  important  for  po- 
tatoes as  for  most  other  crops. 

Planting. — Since,  in  the  semi-arid  belt,  the  weather  is 
usually  very  dry  after  August  1st,  the  early  varieties 
should  be  preferred,  other  things  being  equal.  The  most 
popular  potato  at  present  in  much  of  the  dry  area  is 
the  Early  Ohio,  and  it  is  probably  the  most  profitable. 
The  Burbank  holds  a  prominent  place  among  the  later 
varieties.  Other  varieties  that  have  been  more  or  less 
grown  are  the  Rural  New  Yorker,  the  Mammoth  Pearl 
and  the  North  Pole.  While  the  time  for  planting  po- 
tatoes will,  of  course,  vary  with  latitude  and  altitude,  the 
aim  should  be  to  plant  the  crop  at  as  early  a  date  as  will 
be  admissible  because  of  the  presence  or  absence  of  frosts. 
This  crop  is  easily  injured  by  frost  at  all  stages  of  its 
growth.  But  the  nipping  of  the  young  plants  does  not 
mean  their  destruction ;  it  does  mean,  however,  a  consid- 
erably retarded  growth.  It  is  important  to  give  the  plants 
an  early  start  in  order  that  they  may  get  all  the  benefit 
possible  from  the  rains  before  they  cease  to  fall  for  the 
season.  The  time  for  planting  potatoes  may  begin  about 
the  time  when  corn  planting  usually  beings  (see  p.  274), 
and  it  may  be  continued  even  later  than  would  be  suit- 
able for  corn,  as,  in  some  varieties  at  least,  the  potatoes 
will  mature  in  a  shorter  time  than  corn.  In  areas  where 
the  winters  are  mild,  potatoes  are  planted  in  the  autumn, 
putting  the  uncut  sets  down  in  the  soil  below  the  lower 
frost  line. 

The  crop  may  be  planted  in  hills  or  in  drills.  The 
latter  method  is  most  commonly  adopted  when  large 
quantities  are  grown,  as  the  planting  is  then  done  by  the 
aid  of  the  potato  planter.  The  hills  are  usually  made 
from  3  to  3%  feet  distant,  and  similar  distances  should 


294  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

be  allowed  between  the  rows.  The  seed  chosen  may  con- 
sist, preferably,  of  medium-sized  and  shapely  potatoes, 
planted  singly  and  uncut  when  in  hills  or  even  in  drills. 
More  commonly,  however,  the  seed  is  cut  in  large  rather 
than  in  small  pieces. 

Deep  planting  is  preferable  to  that  which  is  shallow. 
In  some  soils,  as  those  that  are  light,  the  aim  is  to  put 
them  in  as  deeply  as  6  inches.  Usually,  however,  they 


DRY  LAND  POTATOES,  CHOTEAU  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

may  be  put  down  to  the  depth  of  4  to  5  inches.  In  the 
absence  of  a  planter,  the  seed  is  dropped  by  hand  in  fur- 
rows opened  by  the  plow,  and  covered  by  running  the 
harrow  over  the  ground.  The  distance  between  the  sets 
in  the  rows  is  usually  about  18  inches,  but  they  may  be 
planted  farther  apart,  if  the  lack  of  moisture  should  make 
such  planting  advisable. 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  295 

The  amount  of  seed  called  for  will  vary  much  with 
the  size  of  the  tubers  and  with  the  distance  between  the 
rows  and  sets,  but  10  to  12  bushels  will  usually  suffice 
for  an  acre. 

Care  of  the  crop. — In  some  soils  the  plan  is  good 
which  uses  the  harrow  on  the  planted  crop  from  two  to 
three  or  four  times  between  the  time  of  planting  and  the 


DRY  LAND  POTATOES,*  NEAR  KALISPELL,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

season  when  cultivation  should  begin,  that  is,  when  the 
plants  are  from  4  to  6  inches  high.  In  other  instances  the 
weeder  will  give  better  results  after  the  plants  have 
reached  the  surface.  The  first  cultivation  given  may 
usually  be  deep,  especially  if  the  plants  are  yet  not  far 
above  the  ground,  but  the  cultivator  so  used  should  leave 
the  surface  of  the  ground  level.  The  soil  is  thus  left 
loose  in  which  the  potatoes  may  feed  freely.  The  sub- 
sequent cultivations  should  be  shallow,  and  they  may  be 


296  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

continued  even  after  the  potatoes  haVe  reached  the  blos- 
soming stage.  Should  the  Colorado  beetle  give  trouble, 
spraying  with  Paris  green  will  be  found  effective,  using 
a  solution  of  1  pound  of  Paris  green  to  20  gallons  of 
water. 

Harvesting. — The  crop  is  ready  to  harvest  when  the 
tops  die,  but  in  dry  areas  no  harm  will  usually  follow  if 
the  tubers  are  not  dug  until  late  in  the  season,  as  injury 
from  rain  is  seldom  to  be  feared,  which,  of  course,  is  not 
true  of  humid  regions.  Thus  undisturbed,  the  tubers 
will  keep  nicely  until  they  are  wanted,  or  until  the  sea- 
son arrives  when  the  hazard  is  incurred  that  they  may 
be  injured  by  the  freezing  of  the  ground.  The  crop  is 
dug:  (1)  by  hand,  using  a  fork  with  closely  spaced  tines; 
(2)  by  turning  the  tubers  out  with  the  plow  and,  after 
picking  those  that  are  visible,  following  with  the  harrow 
to  uncover  others;  (3)  with  the  potato  digger,  which  is 
indispensable  when  large  areas  are  to  be  dug.  The  tubers 
may  be  kept  in  pits  or  in  cellars,  but  always  beyond  the 
reach  of  frost.  The  potatoes  in  the  pits  are  placed  in 
oblong  piles  rising  up  in  the  form  of  a  ridge  roof.  They 
are  then  covered  with  a  layer  of  straw,  and  over  this  one 
or  more  layers  of  earth,  according  to  the  needs  of  the 
climate.  Along  the  ridge,  suitable  openings  should  be 
left  for  ventilation.  Potatoes  in  cellars  should  be  kept 
cool. 

GROWING  FIELD  BEANS 

This  class  includes  two  distinct  classes.  These  are 
the  common  field  bean  and  the  soy  bean.  Each  of  these 
includes  many  varieties.  The  common  field  bean  may 
be  grown  over  much  of  the  semi-arid  area,  as  it  grows 
on  a  great  variety  of  soils  and  under  very  dry  conditions. 
Moreover,  the  weather  for  harvesting  the  crop  in  dry 
areas  is  almost  perfect.  The  common  field  bean  may 
be  grown  with  safety  in  a  normal  season  as  far  north  as 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  297 

the  Canadian  boundary,  if  not,  indeed,  farther,  and  at  ele- 
vations as  high  as  3,000  feet,  if  not,  indeed,  higher.  The 
soy  bean,  however,  may  not  be  grown  with  much  suc- 
cess north  of  the  parallel  of,  say,  43,  although  in  some 
varieties,  as  the  New  Era,  -it  may  be  matured  as  far 
north  as  45. 

Soils. — Both  classes  of  beans  may  be  grown  on  a 
wide  range  of  soils.  The  favorite  soils  for  both,  however, 
are  loams,  especially  loams  that  have  a  considerable  con- 
tent of  sand.  While  these  crops  will  grow  and  produce 
on  soils  relatively  low  in  fertility,  they  respond  readily 
to  fertilization.  The  volcanic  ash  soils  of  the  west  are 
well  adapted  to  these  crops.  They  may  be  grown  on 
stiff  clays,  but  not  so  well  as  on  a  better  class  of  soils. 
There  is  no  room  for  them  on  alkali  lands. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Both  classes  of  beans  are 
grown  under  cultivation  and  both  are  soil  enrichers. 
Both  may,  therefore,  be  grown  as  cleaning  and  reno- 
vating crops.  Both  come  with  peculiar  propriety  after 
grain  crops,  and  with  equal  propriety  they  may  be  fol- 
lowed by  grain  crops.  They  grow  well  on  sod  land  in 
a  proper  condition  of  preparation.  The  aim  should  be 
not  to  plant  them  after  other  cultivated  crops  or  on  sum- 
mer-fallow, as  such  land  is  wanted  for  the  growth  of 
cereals. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  preparation  of  the  land  for 
beans  is  not  far  different  from  the  preparation  suitable 
for  corn  (see  p.  168).  As  the  crop  is  not  usually  planted 
so  early  as  corn,  a  correspondingly  longer  time  is  given 
for  cleaning  the  land  by  the  aid  of  the  harrow  prior  to 
the  planting  of  the  crop. 

Planting. — The  most  suitable  varieties  of  the  com- 
mon bean  include  the  navy,  the  Mexican  and  the  white 
wax.  The  navy  is  the  most  popular  by  far  of  the  field 
varieties,  especially  the  small  navy.  In  California  and 
some  of  the  other  states  southward,  the  lima  varieties 


298  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

are  grown.  On  and  contiguous  to  the  parallel  of  45,  the 
early  dwarf  varieties  of  the  soy  bean  may  be  planted. 
Between  the  parallels  38  and  45,  the  medium  dwarf,  in- 
cluding such  varieties  as  the  early  white,  will  be  found 
suitable,  also  the  medium  early  green,  a  variety  that  has 
found  favor  in  certain  sections  of  New  England.  Farther 
southward  the  standard  varieties  are  more  suitable. 
These  include  the  medium  late  green  and  the  medium  late 
black.  It  is  unsafe  to  plant  either  class  of  the  two  classes 
before  the  danger  from  spring  frosts  is  past.  When  frozen 
down,  the  plants  do  not  recover  satisfactorily,  as  in  the 
case  of  corn.  This  will  mean  that  near,  the  Canadian 
border  planting  will  not  be  safe  before  about  June  1st. 
The  season  for  planting  will  continually  advance  as  the 
north  is  receded  from,  save  in  certain  areas  of  high  alti- 
.  tude.  The  soy  varieties  should  not  be  planted  until  both 
soil  and  weather  have  become  reasonably  warm. 

Both  classes  may  be  planted  in  hills  or  in  rows,  but 
the  latter  method  is  the  one  that  is  most  commonly 
adopted.  The  work  may  be  done  with  the  corn  planter 
or  with  the  grain  drill.  The  distance  between  the  rows 
and  plants  in  the  row  will  vary  with  the  size  of  the 
plants  of  the  particular  variety.  More  commonly  the 
rows  are  made  36  inches  apart  for  the  small  varieties  of 
both  classes  of  beans.  For  some  varieties  of  the  soy 
beans  the  distance  should  be  greater.  The  space  between 
the  plants  will  vary  as  the  plants  are  large  or  small. 

The  depth  to  plant  in  average  soils  is  from  2  to  %l/2 
inches,  but  in  very  loose  soils  or  in  those  without  mois- 
ture near  the  surface,  it  may  be  necessary  to  plant  more 
deeply. 

The  amount  of  seed  called  for  will  vary  much  with 
the  size  of  the  seed.  Usually  from  2  to  3  pecks  will  suf- 
fice per  acre,  and  in  very  dry  conditions  a  less  quantity 
will  answer. 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  299 

Care  of  the  crop. — The  crop  will  usually  profit  much 
from  the  careful  stirring  of  the  surface  soil  with  the  har- 
row or  the  weeder,  before  it  reaches  the  surface.  Subse- 
quently, if  harrowing  is  given,  it  should  be  done  with 
great  care,  and  usually  only  when  the  plants  are  too 
thick,  so  that  if  they  are  thinned  somewhat  by  the  process 
the  crop  will  not  suffer.  After  the  plants  appear,  the 
cultivator  is,  all  in  all,  the  best  implement  to  use.  It 
should  be  run  at  first  quite  near  to  the  line  of  the  row. 
As  with  corn,  the  cultivations  should  be  frequent  and  con- 
tinued until  the  beans  have  reached  the  flowering  stage. 
This  work  should  never  be  done  when  the  plants  are 
wet  with  dew  or  rain.  Some  hand  hoeing  may  be  neces- 
sary to  remove  weeds  that  may  start  in  the  line  of  the 
row. 

Harvesting. — The  crop  may  be  harvested  by  hand 
pulling,  should  the  area  grown  be  small.  For  large  areas 
a  bean  puller,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  a  bean  lifter, 
should  be  used.  This  implement  cuts  off  the  beans  a 
short  distance  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  They 
are  then  lifted  by  the  aid  of  a  fork  and  placed  in  rows 
or  piles  to  dry.  From  these  they  may  be  stacked,  if  quite 
dry,  and  threshed  later  with  a  machine  specially  de- 
signed for  such  work.  Soy  beans  are  in  some  instances 
harvested  by  swine.  For  such  a  use  they  have  high 
adaptation.  In  dry  areas  this  may  be  done  with  little  or 
no  loss  of  grain,  but,  of  course,  the  straw  is  spoiled  for 
feeding. 

The  yields  of  the  common  bean  average  not  less  than 
20  bushels  per  acre.  The  average  yields  from  soy  beans 
are  probably  not  any  more,  but  in  some  instances  the 
large  and  late  varieties  give  yields  that  are  much  larger. 

GROWING  FIELD  ROOTS 

The  field  roots  that  may  be  grown  in  the  semi-arid 
areas  include  carrots,  mangels,  sugar  beets,  turnips,  ruta- 


300 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


bagas  and  kohlrabi.  Carrots  are  mentioned  first  because 
of  their  pre-eminent  adaptation  to  western  soils,  and 
especially  to  those  of  the  volcanic  ash  type.  Kohlrabi  is 
a  plant  which  produces  what  may  be  termed  a  bulb  above 
the  ground,  in  contrast  to  the  turnip,  which  produces  the 
same  chiefly  below  the  surface.  Carrots  and  mangels 
will  succeed  under  a  wider  range  of  climatic  conditions 


DRY  LAND  MANGELS,  FIATHEAD  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

than  the  other  crops  named,  as  they  they  may  not  only 
be  grown  in  areas  that  are  relatively  cool,  but  they  may 
also  be  grown  with  success  where  the  climatic  conditions 
would  be  too  warm  for  the  successful  growth  of  ruta- 
bagas and  kohlrabi.  The  latter,  therefore,  have  relatively 
better  adaptation  for  the  higher  altitudes  than  the  former. 
While  field  roots  may  be  grown  successfully  under 
dry  conditions,  it  can  scarcely  be  said  with  truth  that 
they  are  as  sure  a  crop  as  cereals.  One  handicap,  some 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  301 

seasons,  is  the  lack  of  moisture  to  insure  germination  at 
the  proper  season,  as  in  most  instances  they  call  for  plant- 
ing that  is  relatively  shallow.  Quite  frequently  there  is 
also  a  lack  of  ample  moisture  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  growing  season  to  produce  a  maximum  growth. 
•Sugar  beets,  especially,  may  not  produce  yields  that  may 
be  desired  from  this  cause,  hence  the  wisdom  of  growing 
them  under  a  very  light  normal  rainfall  is  to  be  ques- 
tioned, notwithstanding  the  high  sugar  content  which 
they  may  possess. 

Soils. — The  best  soils  for  all  kinds  of  field  roots  are 
sandy  loams  underlaid  with  subsoils  of  moderately  por- 
ous texture.  Soils  with  a  considerable  admixture  of  sand 
in  the  clay  element  which  they  contain  have  especial 
adaptation  to  the  needs  of  carrots,  turnips  and  rutabagas. 
Mangels  and  sugar  beets  will  grow  more  successfully  in 
clay  soils  when  once  started,  but  none  of  'these  crops 
should  be  planted  on  stiff  clays.  'It  is  difficult  to  properly 
germinate  them  on  such  soils.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  keep 
them  in  a  proper  condition  of  tilth.  The  silty  soils  of 
the  river  basins  are  usually  too  porous  for  the  proper 
retention  of  the  needed  moisture  for  these  crops.  Gumbo 
soils  which  carry  considerable  quantities  of  alkali  may 
be  made  to  produce  enormous  crops  of  mangels  and  sugar 
beets  when  irrigated,  but  when  not  irrigated  it  is  not 
possible  so  to  manage  them  as  to  secure  the  requisite 
tilth  for  these  crops  under  normal  conditions.  Dry 
gravels  and  shallow  soils  are  wholly  unsuited  to  the 
growth  of  these  crops. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Normally  the  place  for  these 
crops  is  after  small  grain,  not  only  because  such  a  suc- 
cession furnishes  the  best  conditions  under  which  they 
may  be  grown,  but  because  when  grown  thus  the  land  is 
being  prepared  for  a  crop  of  small  grain  to  follow.  Land 
that  has  bee.n  summer-fallowed  will  be  more  certainly 
followed  by  a  good  crop  than  stubble  land ;  hence,  under 


302  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

very  dry  conditions  it  may  be  advisable  to  grow  them 
thus,  not  only  to  insure  a  crop,  but  also  to  increase  the 
moisture  content  in  the  soil.  Land  thus  managed  has 
virtually  the  benefit  of  summer  tillage  for  two  successive 
years.  The  moisture  thus  stored  in  the  soil  will  render 
the  grain  crop  that  follows  almost  an  assured  certainty. 
These  crops  may,  in  some  instances,  be  grown  success- 
fully on  alfalfa  sod  properly  prepared. 

•  Preparing  the  soil. — When  root  crops  follow  the 
summer-fallow  it  is  seldom  necessary  to  plow  the  land 
for  them  in  the  spring.  In  most  instances  deep  discing 
will  suffice,  following  with  the  harrow.  When  these  crops 
follow  the  small  cereals  the  soil  may  be  prepared  as  out- 
lined for  the  planting  of  corn  (see  p.  168).  If  the  planting 
of  the  crop  is  deferred  until  a  late  period,  say  early  June, 
the  harrow  should  be  freely  used  in  the  interval  follow- 
ing the  opening  of  spring.  When  these  crops  follow 
alfalfa,  the  land  should  be  deeply  plowed.  This  may  not 
be  practicable  in  the  autumn.  On  land  thus  prepared  the 
alfalfa  roots  may  give  trouble  in  cultivating  the  soil. 
This  trouble  may  be  greatly  lessened  by  plowing  the 
land  to  half  the  depth  in  the  autumn  and  again  to  full 
depth  in  the  spring. 

Sowing. — The  Mastodon  carrot  is  one  of  the  best 
varieties  to  grow,  but  Danvers  half  long  is  also  good,  hav- 
ing the  special  merit  of  being  easily  pulled.  The  Man- 
moth  long  red  mangel  and  the  Golden  Tankard  are 
among  the  most  suitable  varieties  of  this  species.  Any 
of  the  standard  varieties  of  sugar  beets,  as,  for  instance. 
Vilmorin's  Improved,  may  be  grown.  The  old  stand-by, 
the  Purple  Top  Swede,  still  ranks  high  among  the 
standard  sorts  of  rutabagas,  and  the  Purple  Top  Strap 
Leaf  among  the  turnips.  Carrots  should  be  sown  as  soon 
as  the  ground  is  in  proper  condition  to  work  in  the  spring. 
Mangels  and  sugar  beets  should  not  be  sown  until  2  or 
3  weeks  later,  as  they  will  succumb  to  frost.  The  best 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  303 


quality,  but  perhaps  not  the  largest  quantity,  of  ruta- 
bagas, turnips  and  kohlrabi  will  be  obtained  from  seed 
sown  as  late  as  May  in  northern  areas. 

In  small  areas  the  hand  planter  may  be  used  in  sow- 
ing any  of  these.  In  large  areas  the  planter  used  in  sow- 
ing sugar  beets  will  best  answer  the  purpose.  But,  with 
careful  driving,  the  grain  drill,  or  at  least  some  grain 
drills,  will  sow  any  of  these.  When  sowing  carrots. 


DRY  LAND  CARROTS,  FLATHEAD  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

mangels  or  sugar  beets,  it  may  be  necessary  to  mix  the 
seed  with  some  substance,  as  dry  earth,  to  prevent  the 
same  from  feeding  too  fast.  When  the  drill  has  a  grass 
seed  attachment  that  carries  the  seed  into  the  drill  tubes, 
the  seed  of  rutabagas,  turnips  and  kohlrabi  may  be  dis- 
tributed from  this  attachment.  The  openings  into  the 
grain  tubes  not  in  use  must  all  be  covered.  These  crops 
should  not  be  sown  in  raised  drills  in  the  absence  of  irri- 


304  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

gation,  as  this  would  result  in  the  loss  of  too  much  mois- 
ture. The  distance  between  the  rows  should  be  such  as 
to  meet  the  conditions  of  cultivation.  Having  regard 
only  to  the  needs  of  the  plants,  the  rows  between  carrots 
may  be  as  close  as  20  inches,  mangels  30  to  36  inches, 
sugar  beets  20  inches,  rutabagas,  turnips  and  kohlrabi  30 
inches.  The  seeds  of  all  these  crops  are  preferably  sown 
shallow,  as  shallow  as  1  to  2  inches.  Deeper  planting 
will  be  more  or  less  adverse  to  quick  germination  and 
also  to  strong  germination,  and  yet  it  may  be  necessary 
to  plant  more  deeply  in  order  to  insure  germination. 
There  is  a  marked  advantage  in  having  the  soil  pressed 
around  the  seed  when  it  is  planted,  as  is  done  by  the 
press  drill  when  it  is  used.  Germination  is  then  both 
surer  and  firmer. 

From  2  to  3  pounds  of  seed  should  suffice  per  acre 
for  carrots.  It  is  usually  considered  wise  to  sow  not 
fewer  than  6  to  8  pounds  of  mangels  and  sugar  beets  to 
insure  a  full  stand.  From  1^2  to  2%  pounds  of  ruta- 
bagas, turnips  or  kohlrabi  should  suffice. 

Rutabagas  and  turnips  may  be  sown  on  new  break- 
ing or  on  any  overturned  sod,  more  especially  after  it 
has  been  pressed  down  by  the  roller.  The  seed  is  broad- 
casted and  is  covered  with  the  harrow.  No  cultivation  is 
given  subsequently.  This  method  will,  in  most  instances, 
bring  a  crop,  even  from  early  spring  plowing  the  year 
that  the  land  is  first  broken. 

Care  of  the  crop. — Whether  the  weeder  or  the  har- 
row, or  both,  may  be  used  on  any  of  these  crops  after  the 
seed  has  been  sown  will  depend,  first,  on  the  depth  to 
which  the  crop  was  sown,  and,  second,  on  the  thickness 
of  the  stand  secured.  If  the  seed  has  been  planted  deeply, 
the  weeder  or  a  very  light  harrow  may  sometimes  be  run. 
over  the  ground  with  profit  after  the  seed  has  begun  to 
germinate.  After  the  seed  is  up,  say,  a  couple  of  inches, 
one  of  these  implements  may  sometimes  be  run  over  the 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  305 

ground.  The  weeder  will  usually  answer  best.  It  should 
be  run  across  the  rows.  Quite  a  number  of  the  plants 
may  be  torn  out,  but  that  will  do  no  harm,  providing 
enough  are  left  in.  A  few  days  subsequently  cultivation 
should  begin,  and  even  earlier  if  the  harrow  has  not  been 
used.  It  should  be  reasonably  deep  at  first,  should  be 
repeated  every  10  to  14  days  when  practicable  until  the 
leaves  reach  far  out  into  the  row,  and  subsequently  at 
longer  intervals  until  the  leaves  almost  meet  between 
the  rows.  The  ground  should,  in  all  or  nearly  all  in- 
stances, be  left  smooth  after  the  cultivator. 

The  aim  should  be  to  thin  the  plants  before  they 
get  beyond  the  height  of,  say,  3  inches.  This  is  usually 
done  in  the  case  of  carrots,  mangels  and  sugar  beets,  by 
striking  a  sharp  hoe  of  suitable  width  across  the  line  of 
the  row,  so  that  but  few  plants  are  left  in  the  clumps 
unremoved.  From  these  clumps  all  but  one  plant  is  re- 
moved by  hand.  In  the  case  of  rutabagas,  turnips  and 
kohlrabi,  an  expert  workman  will  thin  the  plants  almost 
entirely  with  the  hoe.  Carrots  may  be  left  from  4  to  6 
inches  apart,  mangels  from  8  to  12,  sugar  beets  6  to  7, 
rutabagas,  turnips  and  kohlrabi  8  to  12.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary to  use  hoe  and  hand  labor  a  second  time  on  these 
crops  to  remove  plants  not  needed  and  stray  weeds. 

Harvesting. — Mangels  and  sugar  beets  should  be 
harvested  before  frost  becomes  severe,  or  it  will  so  injure 
the  exposed  portions  as  to  harm  their  keeping  qualities. 
Carrots,  rutabagas,  turnips  and  kohlrabi  may  be  left  in 
the  ground  should  this  be  desired,  until  the  approach  of 
the  season  when  it  will  be  locked  by  frost. 

Carrots  and  mangels  are  usually  lifted  by  hand  and 
thrown  into  piles  for  being  topped  after  a  furrow  has 
been  turned  with  a  plow  which  has  loosened  them  so  that 
they  lie  at  an  angle  rather  than  upright.  Sugar  beets  may 
be  raised  in  the  same  way,  but  frequently  they  are  raised 
or  rather  loosened  by  an  implement  that  runs  beneath 


306  DRY  LAND  FARMING. 

them.  Carrots  and  mangels  may  be  similarly  loosened. 
They  are  then  topped  by  hand  and  thrown  in  piles  and 
covered  with  tops  only  until  stored.  Rutabagas  and  tur- 
nips are  pulled  by  hand  and  thrown  in  heaps  for  topping, 
the  same  as  carrots,  described  above.  But  in  some  in- 
stances they  are  topped  with  a  hoe,  pulled  out  of  the 
ground  with  a  heavy  harrow,  and  are  then  lifted  for 
storage.  Kohlrabi  may  be  harvested  by  first  cutting  off 


DRY  LAND  TURNIPS,  FLATHEAD  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

the  part  above  the  bulb  and  then  the  stalk  below  the 
bulb  with  a  strong  and  sharp  hoe. 

All  these  may  be  stored  in  ventilated  cellars  or  in 
pits.  When  storing  them  in  pits  the  same  process  may 
be  followed  as  in  pitting  potatoes  (see  p.  296).  In  some 
instances  mangels  are  harvested  by  swine,  the  portions 
left  in  the  ground  being  raised  for  them  by  the  plow  or 
by  a  hand  implement.  Rutabagas,  turnips  and  kohlrabi 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  307 

may  be  harvested  by  sheep  in  mild  areas.  When  har- 
vesting these -crops  by  swine  or  sheep  the  waste  is  less 
when  the  crop  can  be  fed  off  in  sections,  by  the  use  of 
hurdles  that  are  moved  as  occasion  may  call  for  such  re- 
moval. In  northerly  areas,  such  feeding  off  of  the  crop 
is  usually  inadmissible.  The  yields  will  vary  greatly,  but 
each  class  of  roots  discussed  should  furnish  several  hun- 
dred bushels  per  acre. 

GROWING  ARTICHOKES 

The  artichoke,  like  the  potato,  is  drought-resistant 
in  a  marked  degree.  It  will  grow  under  a  wider  range 
of  conditions  than  the  potato,  and  it  is  more  persistent 
in  its  habits  of  growth.  It 'would  seem  correct  to  say 
that  it  is  the  most  hardy  tuber  grown.  It  is  chiefly  used' 
in  providing  food  for  swine,  and  especially  for  swine  that 
are  being  carried  through  the  winter.  More  commonly 
the  swine  harvest  the  crop  where  it  grew ;  hence,  in 
northern  areas,  where  the  land  is  locked  by  frost  during 
much  of  the  winter,  the  artichoke  does  not  fulfill  so  im- 
portant a  mission,  relatively,  as  where  the  winters  are 
mild.  This  plant  is  really  a  sunflower  which  produces 
tubers,  and  in  the  tubers  lies  its  chief  value,  although 
the  stalks  are  used  to  some  extent  in  providing  forage 
for  certain  kinds  of  live  stock.  The  tubers  are  sometimes 
used  as  food  for  man.  Instances  are  on  record  where 
this  crop  has  been  grown  for  successive  years,  and  on 
the  same  land,  from  one  planting,  where  the  annual  rain- 
fall was  not  more  than  10  inches. 

Soils. — The  soils  that  have  highest  adaptation  for  the 
growth  of  potatoes  have  also  the  highest  adaptation  for 
the  growth  of  artichokes  (see  p.  291).  It  is  of  consider- 
able importance  that  the  artichoke  shall  be  grown  on 
land  possessed  of  much  friability,  as  swine  can  dig  in 
such  land  more  readily  than  in  stiff  clays. 


308  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Place  in  the  rotation. — When  artichokes  are  grown 
for  but  one  year,  the  place  in  the  rotation  is  virtually  the 
same  as  for  potatoes.  But  in  some  instances  they  are 
grown  on  the  same  la*nd  from  year  to  year  and  without 
replanting.  Moreover,  the  natural  order  for  artichokes 
in  the  rotation  is  after  a  crop  of  small  grain  and  also 
before  a  crop  of  the  same. 

Preparing  the  land. — The  preparation  of  the  land  is 
about  the  same  as  for  potatoes  (see  p.  292).  But  since 
artichokes  may  be  grown  on  the  same  land  from  year  to 
year,  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  that  the 
ground  shall  be  deeply  plowed  and  that  the  preparation 
shall  be  thorough  where  the  crop  is  to  be  grown  thus. 

Planting. — The  common  Jerusalem  artichoke  is  the 
variety  that  is  chiefly  grown  and  that  is  best  adapted  to 
arid  conditions.  But  under  specially  favorable  conditions 
other  varieties  give  larger  returns.  The  time  most  com- 
monly chosen  for  planting  is  the  early  spring,  but  in 
many  instances  the  sets  are  planted  in  the  fall.  When 
planted  in  the  fall,  it  has  been  found  better  to  plant 
whole,  but  when  planted  in  the  spring  the  tubers  may 
be  cut  as  in  the  case  of  potatoes.  Fall  planting  usually 
takes  place  late  in  the  season  and  spring  planting  quite 
early.  The  advantages  from  fall  planting  are:  first,  that 
the  work  of  planting  may  be  done  at  a  time  when  work 
is  not  pressing,  and,  second,  that  the  crop  is  ready  to 
grow  as  soon  as  the  season  for  growth  comes.  Though 
these  tubers  should  be  frozen  in  the  soil,  their  vitality 
is  not  destroyed,  and,  unless  in  instances  of  extreme  freez- 
ing, it  is  not  in  any  sense  injured. 

The  tubers  may  be  planted,  as  in  the  case  of  potatoes, 
by  hand  or  with  the  planter,  in  hills  3  to  3^  feet  distant 
or  in  rows  of  similar  distance.  They  should  be  far  enough 
apart  to  admit  of  easy  cultivation  with  the  cultivators 
ordinarily  used. 


GROWING  CULTIVATED  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS  309 

They  should  be  planted  to  about  the  same  depth  as 
potatoes,  that  is  from,  say,  4  to  6  inches  deep,  accord- 
ing as  the  soil  is  light  or  heavy.  The  deeper  planting 
should  take  place  in  the  lighter  soil.  If  planted  deeply 
in  heavy  soil  swine  cannot  harvest  them  so  readily.  The 
sets  are  placed  from,  say,  15  to  20  inches  in  the  line 
of  the  row,  and  in  hills  2  sets  will  usually  suffice. 

The  amount  of  seed  called  for  is  considerably  greater 
in  fall  planting  than  in  spring  planting,  since  in  the 
former  the  seed  is  not  cut.  Usually  10  to  12  bushels 
per  acre  will  suffice  for  fall  planting  and  about  40  per 
cent,  less  for  spring  planting. 

Care  of  the  crop. — The  artichoke  plants  will  stand 
severe  harrowing.  The  harrow  or  the  weeder,  or  both, 
may  be  used  upon  the  land  several  times  from  the  time 
of  planting  until  the  crop  has  reached  the  height  of,  say, 
10  to  12  inches.  The  cultivator  will  then  follow  as  long 
as  it  may  be  found  practicable  to  continue  the  work. 

Should  the  crop  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  ground 
from  year  to  year  the  excess  of  plants  that  may  begin 
to  grow  in  the  spring  should  be  removed  by  the  culti- 
vator. These  plants  will  come  from  tubers  left  in  the  soil 
from  the  gleaning  of  the  swine  referred  to  below.  They 
should  be  left  in  rows,  or,  what  is  even  better,  in  squares 
wide  enough  to  admit  of  cultivation  between  them  with 
the  usual  implements.  The  care  of  this  volunteer  crop 
will  be  in  outline  much  the  same  as  has  been  submitted 
in  the  paragraph  immediately  preceding. 

Harvesting. — Artichokes  may  be  harvested,  after 
removing  the  tops,  by  a  fork  or  by  a  potato  digger.  They 
may  also  be  harvested  by  swine_after  they  have  matured. 
This  process  may  continue  where  the  supply  holds  out 
until  the  following  spring,  when  frost  does  not  interfere 
with  the  gleaning,  and  when  it  will  not  interfere  with 
the  soil  at  such  a  time.  In  heavy  soils  the  plow  is  used 
to  bring  the  tubers  to  the  surface  as  the  swine  may 
need  them.  Artichokes  yield  more  freely  than  potatoes. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS 

The  legumes  which  probably  rank  highest  in  their 
adaptation  to  dry  areas  include  alfalfa,  the  common 
clovers,  sainfoin,  vetches,  cow  peas  and  sweet  clover, 
also  the  Canadian  field  pea,  the  common  field  bean  and 
the  soy  bean.  The  three  species  last  named  have  al- 
ready been  discussed.  Of  these  the  mission  of  alfalfa 
will  probably  be  found  more  important  than  that 
of  all  the  others  combined.  The  great  value  of 
legumes  in  dry  areas  lies  first  in  the  fact  that  nearly  all 
of  them  have  much  power  to  grow  under  dry  conditions ; 
second,  in  the  enrichment  which  they  bring  to  the  soil ; 
third,  in  the  humus  which  they  bring  to  the  same,  and, 
fourth,  in  their  relatively  high  value  in  furnishing  food 
for  live  stock. 

GROWING  ALFALFA 

Beyond  all  question  alfalfa  is  to  be  the  great  hay 
crop  of  the  semi-arid  west.  Without  alfalfa  the  problem 
of  furnishing  hay  for  the  farmer  of  this  region  would 
be  very  grave.  With  alfalfa  it  is  not  difficult.  The 
view  was  very  prevalent  until  recent  years  that  alfalfa 
could  not  be  grown  successfully  in  the  absence  of  irri- 
gating waters  unless  water  was  found  not  far  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  is  now  known  that  where 
the  soil  and  subsoil  for  alfalfa  are  suitable,  it  may  be 
grown  successfully  where  the  water  table  is  several 
hundred  feet  below  the  surface,  providing  the  climatic 
conditions  also  are  favorable  to  its  growth.  Where 
this  beneficent  plant  can  be  grown,  it  will  furnish  hay 
for  live  stock,  bring  enrichment  and  humus  to  the  soil, 
tend  in  a  very  marked  degree  to  prevent  blowing  in 
light  soils,  and  prove  a  most  effective  subsoiler  through 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS 


311 


the  influence  which  its  roots  exert  upon  the  soil  and  sub- 
soil in  their  growth  and  decay.  The  value  of  this  plant 
to  the  dry  land  farmer  can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  It 
has  been  ascertained  during  recent  years  that  it  may  be 


grown  successfully  on  average  soils  where  the  annual 
precipitation  is  not  more  than  10  to  12  inches  in  a  year. 
Soils. — The   best   soils   for   alfalfa   are   loams,   pro- 
nouncedly sandy    in    their  composition,  and  underlaid 


312  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

with  a  reasonably  porous  sandy  and  clay  loam  subsoil. 
Such  soils  are  frequently  found  in  river  basins,  and 
when  they  are,  and  ground  water  is  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  surface,  the  conditions  for  alfalfa  are  all  the  more 
favorable.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that 
alfalfa  will  grow  successfully  on  the  average  clay  loam 
soil  of  the  semi-arid  west,  with  a  moderately  clay  loam 
subsoil,  though  the  water  table  should  be  hundreds  of 
feet  below  the  surface.  Alfalfa  will  also  grow  reason- 
ably well  on  stiff  clay  soils,  but  on  these  it  is  more  dif- 
ficult to  get  a  stand  than  on  sandy  loam  soils.  In  an 
average  year  it  will  do  well  even  on  gumbo  soils,  but 
on  these  it  may  be  greatly  lacking  in  a  dry  season. 
Alfalfa  will  not  grow  well  on  soils  composed  mainly  of 
vegetable  matter.  It  will  not  succeed  in  dry  areas  on 
light  sands  or  on  gravelly  soils  much  lacking  in  an  inter- 
mixture of  clay.  It  will  not  succeed  in  lands  which  are 
subject  to  overflow  for  any  considerable  portion  of  the 
year,  nor  will  it  succeed  on  land  strongly  impregnated 
with  alkali.  Shallow  soils,  also,  and  those  underlaid  with 
hard-pan  which  comes  within  a  foot  or  two  of  the  sur- 
face are  most  unfavorable  to  the  growth. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  normal  place  for  alfalfa 
in  dry  areas  is  always  virtually  the  same.  This  means 
that  where  the  average  rainfall  does  not  exceed  15  inches 
the  aim  should  be  to  sow  alfalfa  on  summer-fallowed 
land  or  on  land  which  has  grown  a  cultivated  crop  the 
previous  year.  The  reasons  for  such  a  rotation  are  found, 
first,  in  the  fact  that  the  land  is  or  should  be  clean,  and, 
second,  in  the  fact  that  it  should  contain  a  relatively 
hjgh  moisture  content.  When  the  rainfall  is  more  than 
15  inches,  it  is  not  so  necessary  that  this  rotation  shall 
be  rigidly  adhered  to.  In  new  areas  it  may  be  grown  on 
land  newly  broken,  a,s  a  means  of  obtaining  quickly  a 
supply  of  hay,  but  with  the  distinct  understanding  'that 
this  is  not  the  best  method  of  growing  it.  The  objec- 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  313 

tion  to  growing  it  after  grain  lies  in  the  fact  that  such 
ground  is  more  or  less  weedy,  that  it  is  frequently  much 
lacking  in  moisture,  and  that  in  many  instances  it  has 
not  that  completeness  of  fine  and  yet  firm  tilth  that  is 
favorable  to  the  growth.  It  succeeds  much  better  on 
land  that  has  been  broken  for  several  years  than  on  land 
that  is  absolutely  new,  under  semi-arid  conditions. 


DRY  LAND  ALFALFA,  YELLOWSTONE  COUNTY,   MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

Alfalfa  may  be  followed  by  various  crops.  Promi- 
nent among  these  are  such  crops  as  revel  in  a  plentiful 
supply  of  humus  in  the  soil,  including  corn,  the  sor- 
ghums, potatoes,  sugar  beets  and  other  field  roots,  as 
rape  and  millet,  especially  when  these  are  planted  in 
rows  and  cultivated.  Grain  crops  of  the  small  cereals 
are  next  in  order. 


314  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Preparing  the  land. — Ordinarily,  when  preparing  the 
land  for  alfalfa,  the  plan  is  to  be  commended,  at  least  in 
areas  where  the  land  is  new,  which  begins  the  work  one 
year  before  the  seed  is  sown.  The  preparation  consists 
in  summer-fallowing  the  land,  or  in  growing  on  it  a  cul- 
tivated crop  to  get  the  moisture  well  into  the  land.  This 
is  very  important.  The  plan  is  also  excellent  which  be- 
gins such  preparation  by  applying  about  10  loads,  that  is, 
about  10  tons  of  farmyard  manure  to  the  acre  before 
the  land  is  plowed  for  the  summer-fallow  or  the  culti- 
vated crop,  because  of  the  favorable  influence  which  it 
exerts  on  soil  inoculation  (see  p.  316).  Preparing  the 
land  thus  leaves  it  in  a  clean  and  moist  condition  at  the 
close  of  the  season.  The  following  spring  the  disc,  fol- 
lowed once  by  the  harrow  and  again  at  intervals  if  neces- 
sary, should  put  the  land  in  good  condition  for  receiv- 
ing the  seed.  Such  a  seed  bed  should  be  moist,  fine  on 
the  surface,  and  more  or  less  firm  below.  When  the 
land  is  plowed  for  the  fallow  or  for  the  cultivated  crop, 
it  should  be  plowed  deeply.  Should  the  seed  be  sown 
on  breaking,  it  should  also  be  plowed  deeply  and  well 
pulverized  on  the  surface. 

Sowing. — In  the  areas  of  the  dry  belt  that  lie  south- 
ward, hardihood  in  the  plants  with  reference  to  standing 
cold  in  the  different  varieties  does  not  call  for  serious 
consideration,  but  this  is  not  true  of  the  northern  areas 
thereof.  In  the  latter,  preference  should  be  given  to  seed 
that  has  been  grown  well  northward,  as  in  Montana  or 
on  similar  parallels.  Drough-resistant  varieties  are  be- 
ing introduced,  but  none  of  these  have  up  to  the  present 
time  shown  superiority  in  this  respect  which  would 
justify  supplanting  the  varieties  commonly  grown  with 
them. 

Usually  the  aim  should  be  to  sow  alfalfa  seed  as 
early  as  the  danger  from  frost  to  the  young  plants  ceases. 
This,  in  the  northern  areas  of  the  dry  belt,  would  be  in 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  315 

late  May  or  early  June,  and  earlier  in  lower  latitudes. 
Where  the  rainfall  is  reasonably  copious  in  the  autumn 
and  winter,  it  may  answer  to  sow  the  seed  in  the  autumn. 
It  may  be  wise  in  some  instances  to  defer  sowing  for  a 
time,  to  give  opportunity  for  the  more  perfect  cleaning 
of  the  land. 

The  seed  should  be  sown  in  dry  areas  with  some 
kind  of  drill.  Otherwise  much  of  it  may  not  sprout  be- 
cause of  the  shallowness  of  the  covering  given  to  the 
broadcasted  seed.  When  sown  with  a  drill,  it  may  be 
put  down  to  moisture,  may  be  buried  to  a  uniform  depth, 
and,  in  some  instances,  may  be  profitably  harrowed  be- 
fore the  plants  have  reached  the  surface  and  subse- 
quently. A  grain  drill  that  feeds  the  seed  from  an  at- 
tachment into  the  grain  tubes  will  put  the  seed  into  the 
ground  in  about  the  best  way  possible.  For  ordinary 
sowing  all  the  tubes  are  used.  Quite  recently,  however, 
the  method  of  growing  alfalfa  for  seed  by  planting  it 
in  rows  far  enough  apart  to  admit  of  cultivation  between 
them  is  being  tried.  The  most  suitable  distance  between 
the  rows  and  also  between  the  plants  in  the  line  of  the 
row  has  not  yet  been  fully  determined,  but  it  is  believed 
that  this  method  of  growing  alfalfa  seed  will  be  found 
profitable  in  wide  areas  of  the  semi-arid  region. 

On  heavy  soils  and  with  ample  moisture,  the  aim 
should  be  to  plant  the  seed  shallow,  that  is,  to  a  depth  not 
much  more  than  an  inch.  On  light  and  open  soils  it  may 
be  put  down  2  and  3  inches,  in  some  instances,  with 
positive  benefit. 

Where  irrigation  is  practised  it  is  common  to  sow  15 
to  20  pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre,  that  the  hay  product 
may  be  fine  in  its  growth  through  the  crowding  of  the 
plants.  But  in  areas  where  the  rainfall  is  about  15 
inches  or  less,  more  than  8  pounds  of  seed  are  seldom 
sown,  and  in  many  instances  this  amount  is  still  further 
reduced  to  5  or  6  pounds. 


316  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Where  the  moisture  is  ample,  the  seed  is  frequently, 
though  not  in  all  instances,  sown  with  a  nurse  crop.  But 
in  dry  areas  this  should  be  done  very  seldom,  if,  indeed, 
at  all.  Where  the  plants  are  too  numerous  for  the  mois- 
ture supply,  the  root  growth  will  not  be  so  deep  and 
strong  as  under  other  conditions,  and  the  yields  will  be 
reduced  in  proportion.  When  growing  this  crop  it  is 
greatly  important  that  the  plants  shall  make  a  vigorous 
growth  the  first  season. 

In  some  instances  alfalfa  will  not  grow  well  when 
the  first  attempts  are  made  to  grow  it,  even  on  soils  that 
have  the  requisite  physical  and  chemical  conditions  for 
growing  the  crop.  The  cause  is  found  in  the  absence  of 
the  requisite  bacteria  in  the  soil  for  the  successful  growth 
of  alfalfa.  Where  these  are  not  present  in  the  soil  alfalfa 
cannot  be  grown  with  complete  success.  The  absence  of 
the  bacteria  in  a  season  of  normal  rainfall  may  be  known  : 
(1)  by  the  lack  of  growth  in  the  plants,  especially  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  summer;  (2)  by  the  pale  color  of  the 
leaves,  and  (3)  by  the  lack  of  production  in  the  plants, 
even  though  they  should  survive  the  rigors  of  the  winter. 

When  it  is  apparent  that  the  bacteria  are  lacking 
in  the  soil,  the  part  of  wisdom  is  to  introduce  them. 
This  may  be  done:  (1)  by  securing  the  culture  known  as 
nitragin  and  soaking  the  seed  in  it  before  sowing;  (2) 
by  securing,  say,  200  pounds  of  earth,  preferably  from  an 
old  alfalfa  field,  and  scattering  it  over  each  acre  of  land 
on  which  alfalfa  is  to  be  sown  before  or  after  the  sowing 
of  the  seed;  (3)  by  the  liberal  application  of  farmyard 
manure  at  the  outset  on  land  that  is  to  be  sown  to  alfalfa. 
The  first  method  is  not  always  reliable,  as  the  germs 
may  have  lost  vitality  before  they  are  used.  The  second 
method  is  reliable,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the 
third,  but  the  reasons  therefor  are  not  as  yet  well  un- 
derstood. Happily  such  inoculation  is  not  usually  needed 
when  alfalfa  is  sown  on  western  soils. 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS 

Care  of  the  crop. — In  some  instances,  on  some  soils 
heavy  rain  falling  on  newly  sown  seed  packs  the  ground 
to  the  extent  of  preventing  the  plants  from  reaching  the 


surface.  This  crust  should  be  broken,  preferably  by  a 
weeder.  In  some  instances  it  may  be  necessary  to  resow 
the  crop. 


318  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

On  some  soils  it  will  pay  well  to  harrow  the  crop, 
but  not  usually  until  the  plants  reach  the  height  of,  say, 
3  to  5  inches.  On  other  soils  this  may  not  be  admissible. 
Where  the  harrow  can  be  thus  used,  it  aids  in  cleaning 
the  land,  and  frequently  it  may  used  again,  once  or  twice, 
at  a  later  period. 

The  crop  should  be  clipped  when,  say,  8  to  10  inches 
high,  by  running  the  mower  over  it  and  set  so  high  that  it 
will  not  cut  off  the  crowns  of  the  plants.  Should,  the 
tops  of  the  plants  show  any  indication  of  lack  of  mois- 
ture, by  assuming  a  yellowish  tint,  the  mower  should 
be  at  once  sent  into  the  field.  The  clipping  cuts  off 
weeds  that  may  be  present,  and  it  tends  to  strengthen 
the  alfalfa  plants  by  causing  renewed  growth  in  the 
roots.  What  is  thus  mown  may  usually  be  left  to  mulch 
the  land.  The  plants  should  then  be  allowed  to  make  a 
good  growth,  so  that  they  may  go  through  the  winter  in 
good  condition.  The  top  growth  will  tend  to  hold  snow 
and  to  break  the  force  of  the  wind.  It  should  not  be 
pastured  the  first  season. 

After  the  plants  have  reached  the  age  of  two  years, 
discing  will  be  found  profitable  in  the  .early  spring,  also 
carefully  stirring  the  soil  with  an  alfalfa  renovator  (see 
p.  154).  The  discing  should  be  done  in  the  early  spring, 
also  the  stirring  of  the  soil,  as  soon  as  either  can  be  done 
without  harm  to  the  soil.  The  discing  may  be  severe, 
but  th'e  discs  should  not  be  set  at  too  much  of  an  angle 
or  they  may  cut  the  plants.  After  the  discing  the  har- 
row should  be  run  over  the  ground  to  smooth  it.  The 
renovator  stirs  the  ground  deeply  and  does  not  cut  the 
plants  or  split  the  crowns.  Such  stirring  of  the  soil 
helps  to  kill  weeds  and  insect  life,  aerates  the  ground, 
conserves  moisture  and  makes  plant  food  available. 

Harvesting  for  hay. — For  hay,  alfalfa  should  be  cut 
for  swine  just  before  any  blooms  open;  for  sheep,  dairy 
and  beef  cows,  just  after  the  blooms  begin  to  open,  and 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  319 

for  horses  still  later.  It  is  raked  as  soon  as  the  rake  will 
readily  do  the  work.  It  is  drawn  into  small  winrows 
and  lifted  from  these  onto  the  wagon  when  cured,  or  it 
is  stacked  by  the  aid  of  other  machinery  of  modern  con- 
struction, as  the  bull  rake  and  stacker.  In  other  in- 
stances the  winrows  are  put  up  in  small  cocks  to  com- 
plete the  curing.  In  dry  areas  the  first  cutting  may 
sometimes  be  injured  by  rain,  but  this  will  seldom  hap- 
pen with  the  second  cutting. 

Harvesting  for  seed. — Dry  land  conditions  frequently 
show  high  adaptation  for  the  production  of  alfalfa  seed. 
Excessive  rankness  in  the  growth  of  the  plants  and  wet 
weather  when  the  plants  are  in  bloom  are  adverse  to  the 
growth  of  alfalfa  seed.  The  same  is  true  of  plants  that 
grow  too  thickly  on  the  ground.  The  best  seed  crops  are 
obtained  from  plants  young  and  strong  and  growing  well 
apart.  Because  of  the  influence  which  ample  space  has 
on  the  production  of  seed,  the  'practise  of  growing  seed 
in  dry  areas  that  is  obtained  from  plants  grown  in  rows 
and  cultivated  is  meeting  with  much  favor.  This  method 
of  growing  the  seed,  however,  has  not  as  yet  been  carried 
beyond  the  tentative  stage,  but  much  is  expected  from  it. 

The  following  are  among  the  indications  of  a  prob- 
able shortage  in  the  seed  crop:  (1)  blooms  not  numer- 
ous, and  light  in  color;  (2)  blooms  that  do  not  fertilize, 
but  fall  off  from  the  plants;  (3)  the  production  of  only 
one  or  two  weak  and  small  pods  in  a  flower  truss.  When 
these  and  some  other  indications  that  may  be  given  are 
present,  the  crop  should  be  cut  for  hay.  In  areas  north 
of  the  latitude  of  Denver,  the  first  cutting  frequently 
furnishes  the  best  seed  crop,  but  this  does  not  always 
follow.  The  crop  should  be  cut  for  seed  when  a  majority 
of  the  seeds  have  turned  brown.  The  stems,  notwith- 
standing, will  still  be  green.  If  allowed  to  stand  too 
long,  there  will  be  much  loss  through  shattering  of  the 
pods,  and  this  condition  is  intensified  by  rain.  When 


320  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

the  seed  crop  is  cultivated,  the  danger  is  present  that 
there  may  be  an  excessive  thickening  of  the  crop  from 
volunteer  seed.  The  .ertilization  of  alfalfa  is  partly  ac- 
complished by  bees  and  other  insects,  and  partly  through 
self-fertilization,  a  property  that  inheres  in  the  plants. 

More  commonly  the  seed  is  harvested  by  using  the 
self-rake  machine.  The  aim  should  be  to  thresh  the  seed 
from  the  sheaves,  a  method  which  is  seldom  hindered 


LAND  ALFALFA,  TWO  YEARS  OLD,  HARNEY  CO.,  OREGON. 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

by  rainfall,  in  areas  where  much  alfalfa  seed  is  produced. 
When  thus  threshed,  it  should  be  stacked,  and  much  care 
should  be  exercised  to  have  the  crop  sufficiently  dry  be- 
fore stacking,  otherwise  the  seed  may  be  injured  by 
heating. 

The  seed  is  threshed   in  best  form    by    the  clover 
huller,  but  it  may  also  be  threshed  with  the  grain  sepa- 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  321 

rator,  but  that  method  of  threshing  is  more  or  less  waste- 
ful of  seed.  The  yields  of  seed  vary.  As  many  as  15 
to  18  bushels  per  acre  have  been  obtained,  but  4  to  5 
bushels  are  considered  a  good  crop. 

Good  alfalfa  seed  is  a  bright  golden  yellow  color, 
but  it  may  have  a  slightly  greenish  tinge.  It  should  be 
plump  and  free  from  shrivelled  seed,  and  also  from  the 
gray-like  seeds  of  dodder  and  other  noxious  weeds.  Be- 
fore planting,  it  should  always  be  tested  as  to  its  vitality. 

Duration  of  the  crop. — The  duration  of  the  crop  in 
semi-arid  areas  varies  greatly  with  the  conditions.  It 
seldom  fails  from  lack  of  moisture.  Should  it  get  weedy 
or  grassy,  it  is  usually  wise  to  break  up  the  crop.  On  the 
bench  lands  it  has  not  yet  been  fully  determined  as  to 
the  time  that  alfalfa  will  continue  to  produce  well,  but 
it  will  last,  in  most  instances,  for  several  years.  Where 
it  is  easily  grown  it  may  be  broken  up  at  the  end  of  3,  4 
or  5  years  to  improve  the  soil  for  other  crops. 

Breaking  alfalfa  sod. — Alfalfa  does  not  make  a  stiff 
sod,  nevertheless  it  is  very  difficult  to  plow,  because  of 
the  size  of  the  roots.  It  is  not  easy  to  cut  them  all  off 
with  the  plow  and  thus  prevent  future  growth.  To  aid 
in  this  work,  a  share  more  or  less  notched  on  the  cutting 
edge  is  sometimes  used.  In  some  instances  the  land  is 
plowed  shallow,  and  again  more  deeply,  before  the  crop 
that  follows  is  sown. 

MISCELLANEOUS  FACTS 

1.  The  seed  of  alfalfa  is  sometimes  mixed  with  the 
seed  of  sweet  clover.    The  resemblance  between  them  is 
so  .close  that  the  presence  of  the  clover  seed  can  only  be 
detected  by  the  sense  of  smell.    There  is  no  way  of  sepa- 
rating these. 

2.  When  alfalfa  fields  have  been  broken    up    and 
sown  to  grain,  the  plants  that  have  escaped  the  plow  usu- 


322  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ally   become   prolific   producers   of   good   seed.     This   is 
threshed  with   the  grain    and    separated    subsequently. 

3.  Should  a  crop  of  alfalfa  be  injured  by  such  in- 
fluences  as   drought,   frost,   hail    or   insects,    when   the 
growth  is  at  all  advanced,  it  should  be  at  once  cut,  as  it 
will   make  more  growth  subsequently,   and   of   superior 
value,  than  if  it  were  not  so  treated. 

4.  The   objections   to   pasturing   alfalfa   under   dry 
conditions  are:  (1)  that  in  some  instances  it  may  cause 
bloat  in  cattle  and  sheep;  (2)  that  in  others  it  may  un- 
duly pack  the  land ;  (3)  it  may  prove  fatal  to  plants  late 
in  the  season  in  northern  latitudes,  and  (4)  it  may  tend 
to  spread   disease   among  the  plants.     When   pastured 
with  swine,  which  is  one  of  the  best  uses  to  which  it 
can  be  devoted,  it  will  not  live  so  long  as  when  grown 
only  for  hay. 

5.  The  leaves  of  alfalfa  that  break  off  in  the  curing, 
the  stubs  of  stems  below  the  cut  portions  which  later 
fall  off,  and  the  stubbles,  in  addition  to  the  roots,  bring 
much  enrichment  to  the  land  and  also  much  vegetable 
matter. 

GROWING  CLOVERS 

The  place  for  clovers  in  dry  areas  will  never  equal 
in  importance  the  place  that  will  be  assigned  to  alfalfa. 
The  part  that  clovers  will  play,  relatively,  in  such  areas 
will  not  be  one  of  great  significance,  judged  by  the  pres- 
ent indications.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  clover 
must  have  considerable  moisture  in  order  to  make  its 
growth  profitable.  Where  the  rainfall  is  15  to  20  inches, 
clover  may  be  grown  with  some  success.  This  means 
that  it  may  be  grown  in  certain  portions  of  the  semi-arid 
country,  especially  those  portions  of  the  same  that  border 
on  humid  areas  and  certain  other  areas  near  the  foothills 
of  the  mountains.  On  nearly  all  areas  to  which  irrigat- 
ing waters  are  applied  clover  may  be  grown  with  great 
success.  But  where  the  rainfall  is  less  than  15  inches  per 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  323 

year,  the  wisdom  of  sowing  much  clover  is  certainly  to 
be  questioned. 

The  kinds  of  clover  that  furnish  food  prized  for  live 
stock,  and  that  may  be  sown  with  some  success  in  cer- 
tain portions  of  the  semi-arid  belt  are  the  common  red, 
the  mammoth,  the  Alsike  and  the  small  white.  Far 
southward  the  Japan  variety  will  probably  be  the  most 
valuable  variety  to  grow.  Sweet  clover  (see  p.  335)  may 
also  be  grown  for  certain  uses. 

Soils. — Clover  will  grow  well  on  all  soils  that  are 
suitable  for  alfalfa.  It  will  also  grow  on  soils  that  are 
much  more  shallow,  as  in  none  of  its  classes  or  varieties 
does  it  root  so  deeply.  The  Alsike  variety  is  best  adapted 
to  low,  damp  soils.  Clovers  will  grow  well  on  soils  very 
low  in  fertility.  Japan  clover  is  better  adapted  for  such 
a  condition  than  the  other  clovers. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  clovers  follow  naturally 
where  grain  crops  have  been  grown  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  term  of  years.  The  best  place  for  clovers,  viewed 
from  the  standpoint  of  securing  a  good  stand  of  the  clo- 
vers, is  on  land  that  has  been  summer-fallowed  after  a 
grain  crop  or  after  a  crop  that  has  been  cultivated.  Such 
land  is  clean  and  it  usually  contains  sufficient  moisture  to 
insure  a  stand  of  the  clover  when  it  is  sown.  The  clovers 
should  be  followed  by  corn,  flax  and  the  small  grains. 
The  best  succession  is  probably  corn  followed  by  grain, 
but  good  crops  of  flax  may  usually  be  grown  on  clo- 
ver sod. 

Preparing  the  land. — The  preparation  of  the  land  that 
is  suitable  for  the  small  grains  (see  p.  218)  is  also  suitable 
for  clover.  The  seed  bed  that  will  grow  these  in  best 
form  is  also  the  seed  bed  that  will  grow  clovers  in  best 
form.  A  clean  seed  bed  is  important  when  these  crops 
are  sown  in  dry  areas,  and  the  summer-fallow  and  the 
cultivated  crop  which  precede  the  small  grains  put  the 
land  in  such  a  condition. 


324  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Sowing. — The  leading  classes  of  clover,  which  also 
may  be  looked  upon  as  varieties,  have  already  been  re- 
ferred to  (see  p.  323).  To  what  is  there  said,  it  may  be 
added  that  the  most  important  of  the  clovers  is  the  com- 
mon red,  since,  when  moisture  is  present  in  ample  sup- 
ply, it  produces  two  ctittings  in  a  year.  The  mammoth 
is  of  stronger  growth  and,  therefore,  may  prove  more 
satisfactory  on  light  lands.  The  Alsike  is  pre-eminently 
adapted  to  low  lying  lands,  but  will  grow  well  on  higher 
lands,  especially  when  these  are  strongly  impregnated 
with  lime.  The  small  white,  which  is  only  adapted  to 
pasture  production-,  or  at  least  mainly  so,  gives  the  best 
account  of  itself  under  moist  conditions.  Japan  clover 
will  grow  on  very  poor  soils,  but  the  growth  will  be 
less  vigorous  proportionately  than  when  it  is  grown  on 
good  soils. 

All  the  clovers  should  be  sown  early  in  the  season 
except  the  crimson,  and  that  variety  is  not  well  adapted  to 
dry  areas.  As  a  rule,  the  clovers  should  be  sown  as  early 
in  the  season  as  the  land  is  in  suitable  condition  to  re- 
ceive them.  In  areas  southward,  it  may  answer  to  sow 
clovers  early  in  the  autumn.  This  method,  however,  is 
not  applicable  to  northern  areas,  as  the  plants  in  these 
are  unable  to  stand  the  rigors  of  the  winter  when  sown 
thus  late.  They  may  be  sown  with  the  grain  drill.  More 
commonly  they  are  sown  with  an  attachment  to  the  grain 
drill  which  allows  the  seed  to  fall  before  the  grain  tubes. 
It  is  much  better,  however,  to  have  the  seed  feed  into 
the  grain  tubes,  which  bury  it  with  the  grain,  or,  what 
is  still  better,  running  the  seeder  over  the  ground  subse- 
quent to  the  sowing  of  the  grain.  It  may  then  be 
'buried  at  a  proper  depth.  On  winter  rye  ground  it  may 
be  sown  broadcast  in  the  early  spring  and  covered  with 
the  harrow,  or  it  may  be  sown  with  a  drill  such  as  has 
been  referred  to  above. 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  325 

Clovers  should  usually  be  sown  with  a  nurse  crop. 
They  may  grow  better,  in  some  instances,  without  a 
nurse  crop,  but  if  clovers  cannot  be  grown  successfully 
without  starting  them  with  a  nurse  crop,  it  is  question- 
able if  it  will  pay  to  grow  them,  since  they  are  short  lived. 
The  nurse  crops  which  would  seem  best  adapted  to  their 
growth  in  the  order  named  are :  Speltz,  barley,  rye, 
wheat  and  oats.  Oats  are  ill  adapted  as  a  nurse  crop  for 


DRY  LAND  CLOVER  AND  TIMOTHY,  NEAR  REDMOND,  OREGON. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

clovers,  because  of  the  abundance  of  the  leaf  growth, 
which  produces  an  excessive  shade,  and  draws  heavily  on 
the  moisture  in  the  soil.  If  clovers  are  sown  along  with 
oats,  not  more  than  2  pecks  per  acre  of  the  latter  should 
be  sown,  and  the  crop  should  be  cut  for  hay  when  it  has 
reached  the  heading  stage.  They  should  be  sown  to  the 
depth  of  1  to  2  inches,  on  soil  that  is  not  stiff.  It  will  not 


326  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

answer  to  sow  clover  on  the  surface,  as  in  humid  climates, 
for  then  it  would  not  germinate.  On  very  light  soils  it 
should  be  sown  more  deeply  even  than  2  inches. 

When  red  clover  of  either  the  medium  or  mammoth 
varietes  is  sown,  about  6  pounds  per  acre  should  suf- 
fice. When  Alsike  is  sown,  about  4  pounds  should  be 
enough,  and  of  the  small  white  or  the  Japan  even  3 
pounds  should  answer. 

Care  of  the  crop. — If  clover  is  sown  in  cold  areas,  it 
will  not  answer  to  pasture  it  down  in  the  autumn  of  the 
year  in  which  it  is  sown.  Where  the  winters  are  mild, 
such  pasturing  is  legitimate.  If  seed  only  is  to  be  ob- 
tained, the  crop  may  sometimes  be  pastured  with  ad- 
vantage in  the  early  spring.  It  is  questionable  whether 
any  form  of  cultivation  that  could  be  given  to  the  crop 
after  it  has  become  established  would  be  of  much  service 
to  the  crop.  In  cold  areas  the  shelter  furnished  by  the 
stubbles  is  proportionate  to  the  length  of  the  same. 

Harvesting  for  hay. — Clover  of  all  kinds  is  ready 
for  being  harvested  when  it  is  in  full  bloom.  It  is,  of 
course,  cut  with  the  mower.  In  a  very  short  time  in  dry 
areas,  it  will  be  dry  enough  to  rake.  If  not  raked  with 
some  promptness,  there  will  be  loss  of  leaves  and  also 
injury  to  the  crop  from  becoming  overdry.  In  such  areas 
curing  may  generally  be  completed  in  the  winrow.  The 
crop  may  be  stored  in  the  same  way  as  alfalfa  (see  p.  318). 

Harvesting  for  seed. — In  the  absence  of  experience 
the  discussion  of  this  question  cannot  be  definite  or  spe- 
cific. There  are  good  reasons,  however,  for  believing 
that  clover  will  produce  seed  more  abundantly  relatively 
than  hay.  Whether  in  the  case  of  medium  red  clover  it 
would  not  be  better  to  take  seed  from  the  first  crop  than 
to  try  to  grow  a  second  crop  is  at  least  an  open  ques- 
tion. From  the  mammoth  and  the  Alsike,  the  seed 
must  come  from  the  first  and  only  crop  produced. 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  327 

The  seed  crop  is  ready  for  harvesting  when  the 
heads  have  nearly  all  assumed  a  reddish  brown  hue.  They 
are  so  ripe  when  they  become  black  that  they  are  much 
liable  to  break  off  in  the  curing  process.  The  seed  crop 
is  harvested  in  much  the  same  way  as  alfalfa  (see  p.  319). 
If  the  huller  cannot  be  had  for  threshing  clover  it  should 
be  run  through  the  separator  twice  in  order  to  get  all 
the  seed.  The  probable  yields  of  seed  in  the  dry  areas 
cannot  be  given  definitely  yet. 

GROWING  SAINFOIN 

Experience  in  growing  sainfoin  in  the  semi-arid 
areas  of  the  west  is  somewhat  limited,  so  much  so  that 
facts  regarding  its  growth  under  dry  conditions  are  al- 
most entirely  wanting.  It  would  seem  probable,  how- 
ever, that  sainfoin  will  fill  a  not  unimportant  place  in 
providing  food  for  live  stock,  both  as  hay  and  pasture  in 
the  semi-arid  west.  Sainfoin  is  a  plant  of  the  clover 
family.  It  is  more  branched  in  habit  of  growth  than 
clover  and  attains  a  greater  height.  It  furnishes  two 
cuttings  of  hay  in  humid  areas  or  one  cutting  of  hay 
and  one  of  seed,  but  under  dry  conditions  it  may  not 
probably  furnish  more  than  one  cutting.  It  is  a  good  pas- 
ture plant,  since  it  does  not  produce  bloat  as  alfalfa  does. 
It  furnishes  pasture  quite  as  early  as  alfalfa  and  is 
probably  as  continuous  and  persistent  in  its  habit  of 
growth.  It  has  a  pink  blossom  which  deepens  into  a 
crimson,  so  that  a  field  of  sainfoin  has  a  beautiful 
appearance  when  it  is  in  early  blossom.  One  of  the 
greatest  difficulties  encountered  in  growing  sainfoin  is 
the  relatively  low  vitality  of  the  seed.  Because  of  this 
the  stands  obtained  from  sainfoin  seed  are  not  as  com- 
plete as  could  be  desired.  To  prevent  such  an  occur- 
rence large  quantities  of  seed  should  be  sown. 

Soils. — -While  sainfoin  will  grow  on  a  variety  of  soils, 
it  has  pre-eminent  adaptation  for  soils  that  are  rich  in 


328  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

lime  and  somewhat  dry  in  character.  This  means  that 
it  should  possess  relatively  high  adaptation  for  many  of 
the  soils  of  the  west,  which,  as  a  rule,  are  unusually  well 
supplied  with  lime.  This  plant  should,  therefore, 
give  a  good  account  of  itself  on  the  volcanic  ash  soils 
of  the  far  west.  On  soils  saturated  from  seepage  water 
or  water  from  other  sources,  it  should  not  be  sown. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Sainfoin,  like  the  clovers, 
should  follow  a  cleaning  crop.  As  it  should  remain  in 
the  soil  from  year  to  year  for  several  years  when  a  stand 
is  once  obtained,  it  ought  to  be  sown  only  on  well  cleaned 
land.  It  should,  therefore,  follow  summer-fallow,  or  a 
cultivated  crop.  It  may  be  followed  with  much  of  fit- 
ness by  flax  or  other  small  grain,  or  by  a  crop  of  corn. 
The  enrichment  which  it  brings  to  land  should  increase 
crop  production  in  a  marked  degree. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  preparation  of  the  soil  for 
sainfoin  is  much  the  same  as  for  alfalfa  (see  p.  314). 
It  is  especially  important  that  sainfoin  shall  be  sown 
on  clean  land,  as  intimated  above,  for  the  reason,  first, 
that  it  is  to  remain  in  the  soil  for  several  years,  and,  sec- 
ond, that  like  alfalfa  it  is  not  well  able  to  contend  with 
weeds. 

Sowing. — The  best  methods  of  sowing  sainfoin  un- 
der the  conditions  that  obtain  in  the  semi-arid  west  have 
not  been  worked  out  as  yet.  It  would  seem  correct  to 
say,  however,  that  the  crop  should  be  sown  in  the 
early  spring,  without  a  nurse  crop.  The  question  of 
varieties  has  not  yet  been  raised  in  this  country. 

The  seed  is  sometimes  sown  in  the  hulled  form,  but 
it  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  more  commonly  it  is 
sown  while  yet  unhulled.  When  thus  sown  it  may  be. 
readily  put  into  the  soil  with  the  ordinary  grain  drill. 
When  sown  in  the  hulled  form,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
mix  it  with  some  substance,  as  mealor  road  dust. 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  329 

It  is  buried  about  as  deeply  as  alfalfa.  Somewhat 
shallow  planting  is  best,  when  moisture  is  ample,  but, 
of  course,  in  order  to  insure  good  germination,  it  must 
be  put  down  to  the  moisture.  The  germination  is  slow 
at  the  best. 

The  amount  of  seed  called  for  under  dry  land  condi- 
tions, has  not  been  well  worked  out.  European  practise 
sows  very  large  amounts  of  seed.  It  calls  for  about 
40  pounds  of  clean  and  hulled  seed  per  acre,  and  3  to 
5  bushels  of  unhulled  seed.  A  bushel  of  unhulled  seed 
weighs  about  26  pounds.  These  amounts  would  seem 
to  be  excessive  for  western  conditions,  but  this  question 
has  yet  to  be  worked  out. 

Care  of  the  crop. — The  treatment  of  the  crop  under 
western  conditions  is  yet  in  the  tentative  stage.  It  would 
seem  probable,  however,  that  the  treatment  for  sainfoin 
the  first  season  would  be  about  the  same  as  for  alfalfa 
(see  p.  317).  Where  the  winters  are  mild  it  should  en- 
dure moderate  pasturing  the  first  season  without  injury. 
Subsequently  it  may  be  grazed  through  the  whole  sea- 
son or  for  only  a  part  of  it,  hay  or  seed  being  furnished 
by  it  later.  It  is  an  excellent  pasture  crop.  Whether 
it  will  endure  discing  like  alfalfa  does  has  not  yet  been 
proved,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  it  will  endure  treat- 
ment quite  so  harsh  without  suffering  injury.  As 'in  the 
case  of  alfalfa,  it  will  eventually  be  crowded  out  more  or 
less  by  grass  and  some  forms  of  weed  life. 

Harvesting  for  hay. — The  harvesting  of  this  crop 
for  hay  is  about  the  same  as  the  harvesting  of  alfalfa 
(see  p.  318).  The  same  precautions  must  be  observed 
to  prevent  the  shedding  of  the  leaves  and  to  insure  the 
drying  of  the  stems  before  storing  the  hay.  The  average 
yields  of  hay  that  may  be  looked  for  cannot  be  given  in 
the  present  state  of  our  knowledge.  The  quality  of  the 
hay  is  riot  quite  equal  to  that  of  alfalfa,  being  a  little 
more  woody. 


330  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Harvesting  for  seed. — The  conditions  in  the  semi- 
arid  west  would  seem  to  be  especially  favorable  for 
growing  seed,  for  the  same  reasons  that  they  favor  the 
production  of  good  seed  of  grains  and  other  seed-produc- 
ing products.  If  seed  can  be  produced  with  superior  ger- 
minating power,  it  will  mean  much  for  the  future  of  this 
plant.  Information  regarding  the  methods  of  handling 
the  seed  crop  under  dry  land  conditions  is  wholly  want- 
ing, and  the  same  may  be  said  regarding  the  yields  of  the 
seed.  But  the  method  followed  when  harvesting  alfalfa 
seed  should  answer  also  for  sainfoin  (see  p.  319).  As  the 
seed  shatters  very  easily,  the  seed  crop  must  be  handled 
with  much  care. 

GROWING  VETCHES 

The  exact  place  that  the  vetch  will  occupy  in  the 
production  of  the  semi-arid  regions  'cannot  be  fore- 
casted with  precision  at  the  present  time.  It  would  seem 
probable  that  it  is  only  in  areas  that  are  favored  with 
a  considerable  amount  of  moisture  and  temperatures 
that  are  reasonably  cool,  that  it  will  grow  in  best  form. 
The  classes  of  vetch  that  are  commonly  grown  include 
the  common  vetch  and  the  sand  vetch,  frequently  known 
as  the  hairy  vetch.  The  latter  is  the  more  hardy  of  the 
two,  not  only  in  its  power  to  endure  cold  but  also  to  en- 
dure drought  and  hard  conditions  generally. 

The  common  vetch  is  chiefly  grown  for  hay,  but 
may  be  grown  for  pasture  also.  The  sand  vetch  is  fre- 
quently grown  for  pasture,  but  may  also  be  grown  for 
hay.  In  the  drier  and  hotter  regions  of  the  semi-arid 
west,  the  vetch  will  not  fill  an  important  place  in  the 
economy  of  production. 

Soils. — The  common  vetch  will  grow  well  on  any 
kind  of  soil  that  is  possessed  of  a  fairly  abundant  supply 
of  plant  food,  and  that  has  in  it  a  reasonable  amount  of 
friability.  It  will  grow  on  stiff  clay  soils,  but  not  nearly 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  331 

so  well  as  on  those  that  are  of  open  texture.  The  sand 
vetch,  as  the  name  implies,  is  best  adapted  to  a  soil  of 
open  texture  which  may  be  easily  penetrated  by  the 
roots.  It  has  more  power  to  grow  in  soils  low  in  fer- 
tility than  the  common  vetch,  but  it  will,  of  course,  grow 
much  better  on  soils  that  are  well  stored  with  plant 
food. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  common  vetch  may  be 
given  any  place  in  the  rotation,  but,  of  course,  not  with 
equal  adaptation.  It  comes  naturally  after  a  crop  of  small 
grain,  to  make  amends  for  the  depletion  of  fertility  when 
growing  the  grain.  But  more  frequently  it  will  probably 
be  sown  along  with  some  kind  of  grain  to  provide  forage. 
The  sand  vetch  is  usually  sown  with  some  kind  of  small 
grain  to  provide  forage  or  pasture,  whether  sown  in  the 
spring  or  in  the  autumn. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  preparation  of  the  soil  for 
vetches  will  be  the  same  usually  as  the  preparation  of 
the  same  for  the  grain  crop  amid  which  it  is  sown.  This 
means  that  the  crop  will  very  frequently  be  sown  on 
summer-fallowed  land  when  sown  in  the  autumn,  and 
on  similar  land  when  sown  in  the  spring,  or  on  land  that 
has  been  cultivated. 

Sowing. — The  common  vetch  is  sometimes  sown  in 
the  spring  only,  and  in  other  instances  both  in  the  spring 
arid  fall,  whether  sown  alone  or  with  other  grain.  But 
it  cannot  be  sown  in  the  fall  save  where  the  winters  are 
mild.  The  sand  vetch  is  in  some  instances  sown  in  the 
spring  along  with  small  grain  and  again  it  is  sown  simi- 
larly in  the  fall.  More  experimentation  is  wanted  to 
determine  conclusively  the  best  time  for  sowing  vetches. 
They  are  sown  with  the  ordinary  grain  drill.  The 
depth  that  will  be  most  suitable'  for  the  grain  will  also 
answer  for  the  vetches,  hence  the  seeds  may  be  mixed 
and  sown  with  one  cast  rather  than  at  different  times. 
When  the  common  vetch  is  sown  alone,  which  is  done 


332  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

in  some  instances,   the   seed  is  usually  buried  about   2 
to  3  inches. 

Three  to  4  pecks  of  the  vetch  will  usually  suffice 
per  acre.  When  the  common  vetch  is  sown  in  the 
spring,  it  furnishes  excellent  hay  when  sown  with 
bald  barley,  but  it  may  be  also  sown  with  oats.  About 
2  pecks  of  vetch  seed  are  sown  per  acre,  and  the  usual 
amount  of  other  grain  sown  is  reduced  by  that  much. 
About  the  same  amount  of  the  sand  vetch  ought  to  be 
sown.  In  the  spring  it  may  be  sown  with  almost  any 
kind  of  grain,  reducing  the  amount  of  the  same  by  only 
one  peck.  The  vetch  may  add  in  a  considerable  degree 
to  the  value  of  the  forage  furnished  by  the  grain.  It 
will  also  grow  on  after  the  grain  is  harvested  and  fur- 
nish pasture -both  in  the  fall  and  spring,  especially  the 
latter.  In  the  autumn  the  seed  may  be  sown  with 
winter  wheat  or  rye,  sowing  about  2  pecks  of  vetch  per 
acre  and  reducing  the  usual  amount  of  grain  by  that 
much.  The  crop  thus  grown  should  usually  be  grown  for 
hay.  i 

Care  of  the  crop. — About  the  only  care  of  the  crop 
that  can  be  given  is  the  use  of  the  harrow  at  certain 
times.  The  vetch  will  probably  stand  about  the  same 
amount  of  harrowing  without  injury  as  would  be  suitable 
for  the  grain  with  which  it  is  sown.  When  the  sand 
vetch  is  sown  with  spring  grain,  harrowing  or  even  disc- 
ing after  the  grain  crop  has  been  removed,  may  prove 
helpful.  In  mild  areas  the  pasturing  of  the  vetch  may 
be  continued  through  much  of  the  winter,  but  care  must 
be  taken  in  such  instances  not  to  injure  the  land  by 
poaching. 

Harvesting  for  hay. — When  the  crop  is  cut  for  hay, 
if  sown  alone  the  common  vetch  should  be  harvested  by 
the  aid  of  the  field  mower  with  an  attachment  in  the  same 
way  as  peas  (see  p.  266).  The  sand  vetch  grown  alone 
cannot  be  harvested  thus  because  of  the  tangling  of  the 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  333 

vines.  When  these  are  grown  with  other  grain  crops, 
they  may  be  harvested  for  hay  with  the  binder  or  the 
mower.  They  should  be  cut  for  hay  while  yet  a  little 
short  of  full  maturity. 

Harvesting  for  seed. — The  common  vetch  may  be 
harvested  for  seed  when  grown  alone  as  peas  are  har- 
vested. It  may  also  be  threshed  similarly  (see  p.  266). 
When  seed  is  wanted  from  the  sand  vetch,  it  is  best 
obtained  by  sowing  it  with  grain  as  described  above. 
Grown  alone  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  harvest 
the  crop  owing  to  its  recumbent  and  tangling  habit  of 
growth.  When  grown  with  grain  such  tangling  is  pre- 
vented, insomuch  that  the  combined  crop  can  be  cut  with 
the  binder.  When  threshed  the  seeds  are  separated. 
Information  as  to  yields  of  hay  or  seed  are  not  yet  ob- 
tainable. 

GROWING  THE  COW  PEA 

The  cow  pea  is  not  specially  adapted  for  being  grown 
in  dry  areas  and  yet  it  may  be  grown  with  profit  under 
conditions  where  the  rainfall  is  considerably  less  than 
what  is  considered  normal  in  humid  regions.  This  plant 
has  marked  adaptation  for  conditions  in  which  the  tem- 
peratures are  higher  than  would  be  suitable  for  the  suc- 
cessful growth  of  the  Canadian  field  pea.  In  the  dry 
area,  therefore,  one  of  these  is  in  a  sense  the  complement 
of  the  other,  for  where  the  temperatures  become  too 
warm  for  growing  the  Canada  field  pea  at  its  best,  they 
seem  to  have  special  adaptation  for  the  successful  growth 
of  the  cow  pea.  In  the  semi-arid  areas,  therefore,  the 
cow  pea  will  have  a  mission  south  of  the  parallel  45. 
North  of  the  latitude  named  the  Canada  field  pea  will 
give  results  more  satisfactory  than  can  be  obtained  from 
the  cow  pea. 

Soils. — Cow  peas  may  be  grown  on  any  kind  of  good 
soil.  They  are  grown  for  the  purpose,  first,  of  providing 


334  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

hay,  and,  second,  of  enriching  the  land.  Although  this 
crop  can  be  grown  on  soils  low  in  fertility,  it  will  grow 
much  better  on  those  that  are  well  supplied  with  plant 
food.  The  best  soils  for  cow  peas,  therefore,  as  for  near- 
ly all  other  crops,  are  loams  varying  from  clay  to  sand 
in  their  composition.  Nearly  all  the  soils  of  the  semi- 
arid  region  have  abundant  plant  food  for  the  successful 
growth  of  cow  peas. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — As  the  cow  pea  is  usually 
grown  for  hay  or  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  plant  food 
and  humus  to  the  land,  it  is  more  commonly  sown  after 
a  grain  crop.  This  means  that  it  is  more  commonly 
sown  after  a  crop  of  small  grain  and  on  land  that  has 
been  specially  prepared  by  correct  cultivation  autumn 
and  spring.  When  cow  peas  are  grown  for  a  green  crop 
that  will  be  buried,  any  kind  of  a  grain  crop  may  follow 
the  next  season  that  is  suitable  to  the  locality.  The 
same  will  be  true  of  it  when  sown  in  rows  and  cultivated. 
In  the  latter  instance  more  moisture  will  have  been 
conserved  as  a  rule  than  in  the  former.  It  is  not  pos- 
sible to  sow  cow  peas  in  dry  areas  the  same  season  after 
a  crop  of  grain  as  it  is  in  humid  areas. 

Preparing  the  soil. — When  cow  peas  follow  grain 
the  land  may  be  prepared  in  essentially  the  same  way  as 
for  peas  (see  p-  266),  with  the  difference  that  more  time  is 
given  for  working  the  soil  on  the  surface  before  sowing 
the  cow  pea  than  would  be  possible  to  secure  in  the 
case  of  peas.  Should  the  crop  be  sown  on  spring 
plowed  land,  which  may  be  admissible  in  some  instances, 
it  should  be  plowed  early  and  at  once  packed. 

Sowing. — Cow  peas  are  of  many  varieties.  The 
Wonderful  is  one  of  the  best  of  these  for  average  con- 
ditions. The  Whippoorwill  and  the  Black  are  also 
good,  but  these  should  not  be  sown  save  in  warm  lati- 
tudes. The  time  for  sowing  is  not  earlier  than  the  close 
of  the  usual  corn  planting  season.  The  cow  pea  will 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  335 

not  germinate  in  cold  soil.  Under  dry  conditions  the 
seed  should  invariably  be  sown  with  the  drill.  As  a  rule 
the  rows  should  be  far  enough  apart  to  admit  of  easy  cul- 
tivation. As  the  varieties  named  are  vigorous  growers, 
the  vines  will  almost  meet  under  many  conditions  of 
growth.  The  amount  of  seed  to  sow  will  seldom  exceed 
one  peck  per  acre.  The  seed  should  be  buried  about  2 
inches  or  lower  if  moisture  is  farther  down. 

Care  of  the  crop. — It  may  be  harrowed  before  the 
crop  is  above  the  surface.  In  some  instances  the  plants 
may  be  harrowed  after  they  are  above  the  ground,  but 
more  safely  with  the  weeder.  The  cultivation  should  be 
about  the  same  as  that  given  to  corn  (see  p.  280). 

Harvesting  for  hay. — The  cow  pea  furnishes  excel- 
lent hay,  but  it  is  slow  in  curing.  The  hay  may  be  cut 
with  the  mower,  but  better  with  the  pea  harvester.  It 
is  best  cured  in  small  coils.  Dry  areas  are  particularly 
favorable  to  the  curing  of  the  hay.  When  cured  as 
described  it  is  particularly  valuable  for  feeding  purposes, 
being  unusually  palatable  and  nutritious.  As  the  vines 
tangle  some,  the  hay  is  not  always  easy  to  handle. 

Harvesting  for  seed. — As  the  cow  pea  ripens  its  seed 
very  unevenly,  the  common  method  adopted  to  secure 
seed  was  that  of  hand-picking.  The  process  is  slow  and 
costly.  Another  method  is  to  harvest  the  crop  when 
ripe,  and  thresh  it  as  the  common  pea  is  threshed. 

GROWING  SWEET  CLOVER 

In  northern  areas  sweet  clover  has  never  been  given 
that  attention  which  its  good  qualities  should  give  to  it. 
In  several  of  the  states,  this  comparatively  harmless  plant 
is  proscribed  as  a  noxious  weed.  Notwithstanding,  the 
following  may  be  said  in  regard  to  this  much  despised 
and  much  maligned  plant:  (1)  It  will  grow  on  soils  too 
low  in  the  elements  of  fertility  for  the  successful  growth 
of  many  other  plants.  (2)  It  will  grow  on  soils  strong- 


336  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

ly  impregnated  with  alkali,  and  in  its  growth  on  these 
soils  much  of  the  alkali  is  removed,  thus  preparing  the 
way  for  crops  possessed  of  higher  economic  food  value. 
(3)  It  will  grow  well  at  high  altitudes,  which  means  that 
the  area  in  which  it  may  be  successfully  grown  is  very 
wide.  (4)  It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  nitrogen 
gathering  of  the  legumes.  Its  ability  to  draw  nitrogen 
from  the  atmosphere  and  to  deposit  the  same  in  the  soil 
is  in  a  sense  unrivalled.  (5)  The  nodules  that  live  on 
the  roots  are  essentially  the  same  as  those  which  feed 
alfalfa  plants,  hence  sweet  clover  may  be  made  the  fore- 
runner of  alfalfa.  (6)  It  will  produce  a  large  amount  of 
green  manure  for  being  buried  in  the  soil.  On  soils 
that  are  strongly  impregnated  with  alkali  this  pro- 
duction is  simply  beneficent.  (7)  Stock,  which  may  not 
eat  it  at  first,  will  at  length  become  fond  of  it,  notwith- 
standing the  bitter  principle  which  it  contains,  and  will 
thrive  on  it.  (8)  It  is  most  persistent  in  its  habit  of 
growth,  more -so,  probably,  than  any  other  plant  grown 
in  dry  areas. 

The  prejudice  that  has  led  this  plant  to  be  regarded 
as  a  weed  is  not  well  founded.  It  has  arisen,  doubt- 
less, from  the  fact  that,  because  of  a  bitter  principle  which 
it  contains,  live  stock  do  not  relish  it,  but  they  may  be 
trained  to  feed  upon  it  with  satisfaction.  The  place  that 
may  yet  be  assigned  to  it  is  a  large  one  in  dry  areas, 
not  only  in  providing  food  for  live  stock  under  hard  con- 
ditions, but  also  in  removing  an  excess  of  alkali  from  the 
soil.  This  plant  is  also  one  of  the  best  honey  plants 
that  can  be  grown. 

Soils. — Sweet  clover  will  thrive  on  soils  that  are  low 
in  the  elements  of  plant  food  and  that  are  firm  in  texture. 
In  fact  it  seems  to  thrive  better  on  soils  that  are  firm  in 
texture  than  on  those  that  are  loose  and  spongy.  It  is  a 
plant  that  would  seem  to  thrive  best  under  hard  condi- 
tions, notwithstanding  the  violence  which  such  a  state- 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  337 

ment  may  represent  with  reference  to  ordinary  plant 
growth.  Sweet  clover  will  thrive  on  barren,  gravelly  and 
sandy  soils,  and  when  grown  it  may  be  made  to  increase 
their  fertility  by  the  nitrogen  which  it  has  brought  to 
them,  and  to  improve  their  mechanical  texture  by  bury- 
ing the  growth  that  has  been  made  in  the  soil. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — As  sweet  clover  is  a  plant 
that  grows  under  hard  conditions  it  may  be  given  almost 
any  place  in  the  rotation.  It  may  be  grown  with  much 
propriety  on  lands  that  are  low  in  the  elements  of  plant 
food,  and  that  are  lacking  in  friability,  also  on  lands  that 
are  impregnated  so  strongly  with  alkali  as  to  preclude 
the  growing  of  crops  on  the  same.  The  burial  of  the 
sweet  clover  in  the  same  will  have  an  effect  that  is  simply 
beneficent  in  the  amelioration  of  such  soils. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  preparing  of  the  soil  for 
sweet  clover  is  by  no  means  an  elaborate  process.  In 
some  instances,  the  scattering  of  the  seed  on  sandy  or 
gravelly  soil  will  result  in  a  stand  of  the  plants,  even  in 
the  absence  of  harrowing.  But  this  does  not  mean  that 
sweet  clover  will  not  do  relatively  better  on  well  pre- 
pared land.  It  is  a  fact  nevertheless  that  sweet  clover 
does  not  grow  well  on  land  that  is  possessed  of  a  marked 
degree  of  friability. 

Sowing. — Information  regarding  the  best  methods 
of  sowing  sweet  clover  is  much  lacking.  That  the  seed 
may  be  sown  in  the  early  spring  and  along  with  a  nurse 
crop  is  doubtless  feasible.  The  clover  should  not  seri- 
ously interfere  with  the  growth  of  the  nurse  crop.  The 
next  year  the  clover  should  furnish  a  crop  of  hay  or  of 
pasture  as  may  be  desired.  The  fact,  however,  that  sweet 
clover  will  sow  itself  makes  it  quite  apparent  that  it 
would  be  possible  to  obtain  a  stand  of  sweet  clover  by 
sowing  it  in  the  autumn,  either  alone  or  with  a  nurse 
crop.  When  sown  with  a  nurse  crop,  the  seed  may  be 
put  in  by  mixing  it  with  the  grain,  or  by  sowing  it  with 


338  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

an  attachment  of  the  grain  drill.  It  is  better  to  sow  the 
seed  shallow.  This  will  be  at  once  apparent  from  the 
fact  that  the  crop  is  self-sown  in  so  many  instances,  the 
seeds  falling  on  the  surface.  But  when  spring-sown,  the 
seeds  cannot  usually  germinate  without  a  certain  amount 
of  covering.  The  amount  of  seed  that  will  suffice  is  not 
large,  probably  not  more  than  6  to  8  pounds  per  acre. 
But  information  on  this  point  is  very  meagre,  because  of 
the  slight  extent  to  which  it  has  been  sown  in  dry  areas. 

Care  of  the  crop. — When  sown  with  a  nurse  crop, 
sweet  clover  does  not  require  any  other  attention  than 
what  will  be  called  for  by  the  nurse  crop.  When  sown 
alone  it  may  profit  by  harrowing  more  or  less.  Should 
the  crop  ever  prove  troublesome,  as  is  sometimes  the 
case,  by  volunteering  to  grow  where  it  is  not  wanted, 
it  may  soon  be  removed  by  simply  preventing  it  from 
going  to  seed.  It  is  a  biennial,  hence  the  plants  can  only 
persist  in  growing  for  two  years.  Should  it  grow  in 
alfalfa  fields,  the  frequent  cutting  of  the  alfalfa  will  soon 
cause  it  to  disappear.  Should  it  grow  on  the  sides  that 
line  the  irrigating  ditches,  it  may  soon  be  removed  from 
these  by  persistent  cutting,  and  it  may  be  readily  sup- 
planted by  alfalfa,  if  the  seed  is  sown  at  the  proper 
season. 

Harvesting  for  hay. — When  this  crop  is  harvested 
for  hay  it  is  greatly  important  that  it  shall  be  cut  at  an 
early  stage  of  growth,  as  early  as  the  stage  of  the  first 
appearance  of  bloom.  If  allowed  to  grow  longer,  the 
stems  become  woody.  Because  of  a  bitter  principle 
which  the  plants  contain,  they  are  not  relished  by  live 
stock,  but  in  dry  areas  where  other  grazing  plants  and 
other  forage  may  not  be  present  in  much  variety,  they 
soon  learn  to  relish  the  plants,  as  pasture  or  as  forage. 
It  is  managed  like  alfalfa  when  harvested  for  hay  (see 
p.  318). 


GROWING  LEGUMES  IN  DRY  AREAS  339 

Harvesting  for  seed. — But  little  information  can  be 
given  with  reference  to  the  growing  of  seed,  as  it  is  not 
much  grown.  The  plants,  however,  seed  plentifully.  It 
may  be  harvested  for  seed  about  the  same  as  alfalfa  and 
threshed  in  the  same  way.  No  figures  can  be  given  with 
reference  to  the  yields  of  hay  or  of  seed  that  will  be 
of  any  special  value. 

As  a  green  manure. — Sweet  clover  should  furnish 
vegetable  matter  to  the  soil  by  sowing  it  with  grain  in 
the  spring  and  by  burying  the  plants  the  next  season 
when  the  land  is  to  be  summer-fallowed.  When  sown  on 
gumbo  land  the  plants  when  buried  should  have  a  dis- 
integrating effect  on  the  hard  soil. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

GROWING  HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY 

AREAS 

The  hay  crop  in  dry  areas  is  obtained  from  three 
sources.  These  are  legumes,  the  grasses  proper  and  cer- 
tain of  the  grain  crops.  Of  these  the  most  important 
source  by  far  is  the  legumes  which  have  been  discussed 
in  chapter  XIII.  The  cultivated  grasses  which  will  fur- 
nish hay  in  dry  areas  are  not  numerous.  Of  these  the 
three  that  are  most  important  are  timothy,  western  rye 
grass  and  brome  grass.  Hay  from  grains  is  relatively 
far  more  important  in  dry  areas  than  in  those  that  are 
humid. 

In  many  sections  of  the  dry  country,  pastures  are 
obtainable  from  rugged  lands  that  never  can  be  tilled, 
and  yet  they  are  in  close  proximity  to  arable  farms.  The 
owners  of  arable  farms  who  can  utilize  such  pastures  are 
fortunate,  as  they  are  in  proximity  to  cheap  pastures 
furnished  by  nature  from  rugged  lands  that  never  can  be 
tilled.  In  many  instances,  however,  the  tillable  areas 
are  not  in  proximity  to  such  lands,  hence,  the  necessity 
for  obtaining  pastures  from  other  sources.  The  pasture 
problem  in  dry  areas  is  confessedly  difficult.  This  is 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  grasses  grown  cannot  usually 
be  cultivated  during  the  period  of  growth,  as  the  grains 
are  cultivated,  hence  the  conservation  of  moisture  in 
growing  of  grasses  is  difficult.  The  chief  cultivated 
grasses  grown  for  pastures  in  dry  areas  are  virtually  the 
same  as  those  grown  for  hay,  but  for  pasture  they  are 
more  frequently  grown  in  combination  than  for  hay. 
The  growing  of  pasture  is  the  most  difficult  problem  that 
confronts  the  farmer  in  dry  areas. 

Growing  timothy. — While  timothy  is  the  best  grass 
for  furnishing  hay  for  horses  that  has  yet  been  introduced 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      341 

in  many  portions  of  the  dry  areas,  it  does  not  grow  so 
well  as  either  western  rye  or  brome  grass.  It  does  not 
stand  dry  conditions  so  well  as  either  of  these  grasses, 
hence  when  grown  it  should  be  in  favored  situations,  as 
near  the  foothills  of  the  mountains  where  the  seepage 
waters  furnish  moisture  from  subterranean  sources,  or 
where  the  rainfall  is  more  than  normal  for  dry  areas. 

Soils. — Loam  soils  are  the  best  for  timothy,  more 
especially  those  that  are  rich  in  vegetable  matter.  Timo- 
thy will  not  grow  well  on  sandy  or  gravelly  soils  when 
these  are  not  plentifully  supplied  with  moisture. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — In  the  rotation,  timothy 
should  come  after  summer-fallow  or  after  a  cultivated 
crop.  Unless  it  is  sown  on  land  reasonably  well-stored 
with  moisture,  the  plants  may  die  even  after  they  have 
germinated.  Among  the  best  crops  to  follow  timothy 
are  flax  and  corn. 

Preparing  the  land. — The  preparation  that  is  suit- 
able for  the  crop  along  with  which  timothy  is  sown  is 
also  suitable  for  timothy.  It  should  not  be  sown  on 
rough  or  cloddy  ground,  hence  where  a  good  stand  of 
timothy  is  expected  the  soil  should  be  made  fine  near  the 
surface.  A  seed  so  small  as  timothy  will  not  prove  sat- 
isfactory in  cloddy  land. 

Sowing. — When  timothy  is  sown  alone,  it  may  be 
sown  fall  or  spring,  preferably  the  former,  as  when  thus 
sown  it  is  much  less  liable  to  fail  from  drought  than 
when  sown  in  the  spring.  When  sown  in  the  fall,  it  is 
usually  sown  along  with  a  crop  of  winter  wheat,  also  in 
certain  areas  with  winter  barley.  Such  sowing  is  surer 
to  secure  a  stand  than  spring  sowing,  as  the  plants  have 
time  to  become  firmly  rooted  before  the  arrival  of  dry 
weather. 

The  seed  is  sown  with  a  nurse  crop,  preferably  winter 
rye,  winter  wheat,  and  southward  winter  barley,  but  it 
may  also  be  sown  in  the  spring,  especially  in  such  areas 


342  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

as  the  Upper  Flathead  valley  where  the  rainfall  is  much 
distributed  throughout  the  year.  The  seed  is  usually 
sown  with  a  seeder  of  the  wheelbarrow  type,  and  covered 
with  the  harrow.  At  other  times  it  is  sown  with  the 
seeder  attachment  to  the  grain  drill.  Again  it  is  sown 
on  very  light  and  loose  soils  by  mixing  it  with  the  grain. 
On  firm  soils  such  burial  would  be  quite  too  deep.  Ordi- 
narily one  inch  of  a  covering  will  be  ample,  providing 
moisture  comes  thus  near  to  the  surface.  When  sown 
alone,  from  8  to  10  pounds  of  seed  will  usually  be  found 
ample  for  an  acre. 

Care  of  the  crop. — But  little  can  be  done  by  way  of 
caring  for  the  crop  after  it  has  been  sown.  When  sown 
with  winter  grain  and  well  rooted,  it  may  be  quite  pos- 
sible to  harrow  the  grain  in  the  spring  without  dislodging 
many  of  the  timothy  plants,  but  this  work  will  have  to 
be  done  with  a  prudent  caution,  as  timothy  is  a  shallow 
rooted  plant.  To  harrow  the  grain  crop  when  the  timo- 
thy is  sown  in  the  spring  after  the  timothy  has  appeared 
above  ground  would  mean  the  destruction  of  the  young 
plants  quite  as  effectively  as  it  would  cause  the  destruc- 
tion of  weeds.  The  greatest  hazard  to  the  young  timo- 
thy crop  comes  when  the  nurse  crop  is  maturing  and  sub- 
sequently. The  .maturing  of  the  crop  draws  heavily  on 
soil  moisture.  This  drain,  with  the  warm,  dry  period  that 
follows,  is  hazardous  to  the  stand.  The  hazard  is  much 
lessened  when  the  nurse  crop  is  cut  for  hay  soon  after 
the  heading  stage. 

Harvesting. — Timothy  is  cut  with  the  mower  when 
cut  for  hay.  It  is  raked  when  partially  cured,  and  in  dry 
areas  the  curing  is  usually  completed  in  the  winrows, 
from  which  the  crop  is  lifted  with  forks,  by  a  hay  loader 
or  otherwise.  It  cures  readily  and  quickly.  The  yields 
run  from  about  1  to  2  tons  per  acre. 

When  cut  for  seed,  it  is  harvested  and  cured  like 
grain.  It  is  threshed  with  the  ordinary  separator  from 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      343 

the  shock  or  stack,  as  may  be  found  convenient.  The 
yields  of  seed  run  ordinarily  from,  say,  6  to  10  bushels 
per  acre. 

Combinations. — While  timothy  may  be  sown  with 
various  other  grasses,  the  best  combination  is  that  of 
timothy  and  common  red  clover  on  average  soil,  and 
timothy  and  alsike  clover  on  low  land.  The  amounts  to 
sow  may  be  put  at,  say,  5  to  6  pounds  each  of  timothy 
and  common  red  clover  per  acre,  and  5  to  6  pounds  of 
timothy  and  3  pounds  of  alsike  clover. 

Growing  western  rye  grass. — Western  rye  grass,  fre- 
quently designated  slender  wheat  grass,  is  probably  the 
best  grass,  all  things  considered,  for  dry  conditions  that 
can  be  grown.  The  seed  has  good  germinating  power. 
The*  grass  is  very  hardy  in  standing  heat,  cold  and 
drought,  and  it  is  abiding.  It  makes  reasonably  good 
hay  and  pasture,  but  for  either  use  it  does  not  rank  very 
high  among  the  grasses.  It  tends  to  grow  more  or  less 
in  bunches  but  not  so  much  so  as  orchard  grass.  It  is 
indigenous  to  the  prairies  of  the  west  and  it  grows  in 
highest  perfection  in  those  of  the  northwest. 

Soils. — This  grass  will  grow  on  nearly  all  soils  found 
in  western  areas,  but  of  course  in  best  form  on  those  that 
are  reasonably  friable,  rich  and  moist.  It  will  not  grow 
on  alkali  lands.  It  will  grow  better  relatively  on  soils 
lacking  in  moisture  than  any  other  useful  grass  that  has 
yet  been  introduced.  Its  adaptation  for  wet  soils  is  low 
rather  than  high. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Western  rye  grass  will  be 
surer  to  make  a  stand  when  it  is  sown  after  the  bare-fal- 
low, or  after  a  cultivated  crop.  But  since  it  has  much 
power  to  grow,  in  areas  where  the  rainfall  is  more  than 
15  inches  per  year  it  may  answer  under  some  conditions 
to  sow  it  on  other  land.  Usually  it  is  sown  with  some 
kind  of  a  nurse  crop.  When  the  sod  of  this  grass  is 
broken  it  may  with  much  fitness  be  followed  with  flax  or 


344 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


corn  or  even  potatoes  as  the  first  crop  and  small  grain 
as  the  second,  unless  where  the  rainfall  is  more  than 
ordinarily  deficient. 

Preparing  the  land. — The  preparation  of  the  land  is 
the  same  as  would  be  suitable  for  the  nurse  crop.  As 
for  all  other  grass  seeds,  the  seed  bed  should  be  fine  and 
moist  up  near  to  the  surface  and,  of  course,  firm  below. 


DRY   LAND  WESTERN  RYE  GRASS,    WESTERN  MONTANA 
Courtesy  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  needs  of  the  grass 
only,  the  surface  cannot  be  too  well  pulverized. 

Sowing. — As  in  the  case  of  timothy,  this  grass  may 
be  sown  fall  or  spring.  If  sown  in  the  autumn,  it  should 
be  along  with  winter  rye  or  winter  wheat.  In  areas  of 
low  winter  temperatures,  it  should  be  sown  in  the  early 
autumn.  If  sown  in  the  spring,  this  hardy  grass  cannot 
well  be  sown  too  early.  As  with  timothy,  in  some  in- 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      345 

stances,  it  will  answer  to  mix  the  seed  with  the  grain  and 
sow  it  thus.  It  feeds  out  more  evenly  when  sown  thus 
than  timothy,  but  under  average  conditions,  it  is  safer  to 
sow  it  by  running  the  drill  a  second  time  over  the  land  at 
right  angles  to  the  rows  that  were  made  when  the  nurse 
crop  was  sown.  If  sown  alone,  which  may  in  some  in- 
stances be  a  good  plan,  it  may  answer  .simply  to  broad- 
cast and  harrow  the  seed  where  a  grain  drill  is  not  avail- 
able. The  seed  may  be  buried  between  1  and  2  inches, 
but  should  it  be  necessary  to  bury  it  even  more  deeply 
on  loose  soils,  it  will  come  up  from  a  greater  depth. 
When  sown  alone  from  8  to  10  pounds  of  seed  should 
suffice  per  acre  under  dry  land  conditions. 

Care  of  the  crop. — When  sown  in  the  early  autumn, 
this  grass  may  be  so  far  advanced  that  it  will  not  inter- 
fere with  the  harrowing  that  should  be  given  to  the  grain 
crop  at  that  season,  but  there  are  instances  when  such 
harrowing  would  do  harm.  In  the  spring  neither  the 
grass  nor  the  nurse  crop  will  be  harmed  by  judicious 
harrowing  when  the  first  blade  points  of  the  grain  begin 
to  show.  Under  some  conditions  it  may  answer  to  sow 
the  grain  just  before  such  harrowing  is  given 'to  the  crop. 
If  sown  alone,  the  grass  may  be  pastured  the  first  season, 
but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  graze  too  closely. 

Harvesting. — Western  rye  grass  should  be  harvested 
for  hay  soon  after  it  is  fully  out  in  head.  The  hay  soon 
becomes  woody  if  not  cut  promptly  and  when  it  does 
much  has  been  lost  in  palatability.  The  hay  is  firm,  like 
that  made  by  timothy,  and  the  yields  are  usually  better 
under  dry  conditions.  The  cutting  and  curing  are  done  in 
the  same  way  as  when  handling  timothy  (see  p.  342). 
This  grass  should  seldom  yield  less  than  a  ton  per  acre 
and  in  some  instances  it  will  yield  considerably  more. 

It  is  cut  for  seed  with  the  binder,  cured  in  the  shock 
and  threshed  with  the  grain  thresher  from  the  shock,  or 
stack.  The  winnowing  is  easily  accomplished  by  the  aid 


346  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

of  the  fanning  mill.     It  yields  seed  profusely,  frequently 
as  much  as  300  to  400  pounds  per  acre. 

Combinations  for  western  rye  grass. — This  grass  is 
frequently  sown  with  brome  grass.  The  combination  is 
particularly  good  when  these  grasses  are  grown  for  pas- 
ture. The  brome  aids  in  filling  in  the  spaces  between  the 
rye  grass  plants.  The  plan  is  good  which  sows  the  com- 
bined crop  along  with  a  thin  seeding  of  grain  in  the  early 
spring,  and  cutting  the  same  for  hay  at  the  heading  stage 
or  grazing  it.  When  thus  sown  about  2  pecks  of  grain 
will  suffice.  About  5  pounds  each  of  these  two  grasses 
will  prove  ample. 

GROWING  BROME  GRASS 

Brome  grass  (Bromus  inermis)  is,  next  to  western 
rye  grass,  the  highest  in  its  adaptation  for  areas  with  but 
limited  rainfall.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that 
the  strength  and  vigor  of  this  grass  increase  with  in- 
crease in  the  amount  of  moisture  present.  In  moist  areas 
and  on  alluvial  lands  difficulty  is  found  in  removing  this 
grass  from  the  soil  when  the  ground  is  plowed  on  which 
it  grew,  but  no  such  difficulty  exists  where  moisture  is 
lacking.  It  would  seem  quite  safe  to  say  that  brome 
stands  at  the  head  of  all  the  grasses  in  providing  pasture 
under  hard  conditions.  Northern  areas  have  relatively 
higher  adaptation  for  the  growth  of  this  grass  than  those 
that  lie  to  the  southward. 

Soils. — This  grass  grows  best  on  alluvial  soils  that 
have  much  power  to  hold  moisture.  It  also  grows  rela- 
tively well  on  the  brown  loam  soils  of  the  benches  dis- 
tributed over  the  Plains  region.  It  will  grow  reasonably 
well  on  high  soils,  too  light  for  the  growth  of  timothy, 
but  on  these  the  roots  do  not  spread  as  in  rich,  moist  soils, 
nor  do  the  plants  thicken  to  the  same  extent.  It  has  no 
special  adaptation  for  gumbo  lands. 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      347 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  rotation  for  brome  grass 
is  but  little  different  from  the  rotation  for  timothy  and 
western  rye  grass  referred  to  above.  It  comes  after 
fallow  or  cultivated  land  and  before  corn,  flax  or  potatoes. 
It  remains  longer  in  the  soil  than  most  other  grasses, 
should  such  prolongation  be  desired.  In  instances  some- 
what numerous,  experience  has  shown  that  small  grains 
do  not  succeed  well  as  the  first  crop  after  brome,  and 
probably  for  the  reason  that  the  roots  do  not  decay  quick- 
ly enough  to  afford  nourishment  for  the  roots  of  the 
plants. '  Corn,  therefore,  is  one  of  the  safest  crops  to  fol- 
low brome  grass. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  young  brome  grass  plants 
grow  delicately  and  slowly  for  a  time,  hence  the  impor- 
tance of  having  the  soil  in  a  good  condition  as  to  tilth 
and  moisture  when  the  seed  is  sown.  Fine  pulveriza- 
tion after  fallow  or  a  cultivated  crop  furnishes  a  very 
desirable  condition,  but  it  is  possible  to  obtain  stands  of 
this  grass  on  stubble  land  that  has  been  disced  in  sea- 
sons of  considerable  moisture. 

Sowing. — Brome  grass  may  be  sown  during  almost 
any  month  of  the  growing  season,  hence  it  is  better  to 
sow  it  in  the  early  spring  than  at  other  times.  It  is  not 
easily  sown  because  of  the  relative  lightness  of  the  seed. 
When  it  is  sown  by  hand,  even  a  light  wind  may  result 
in  an  uneven  stand  of  the  grass.  When  sown  with  the 
grain  drill,  it  does  not  feed  out  readily  unless  mixed  with 
some  substance  that  is  heavier.  When  sown  on 
light  soils,  it  may  be  mixed  with  a  light  seeding  of  oats, 
but  the  oats  should  be  cut  while  yet  green  and  made  into 
hay.  Even  when  sown  on  heavy  soils,  this  method  of 
seeding  may  answer,  but  in  such  instances  the  burial 
given  should  be  very  light.  In  mild  latitudes,  and  where 
much  of  the  precipitation  falls  in  the  winter,  the  seed 
may  be  sown  in  the  autumn.  As  a  rule,  however,  it 
should  not  be  buried  so  deeply  as  the  grain  amid  which 


348  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

it  is  sown.  In  northern  areas,  it  is  sometimes  sown  in 
the  late  autumn  without  a  nurse  crop.  In  such  instances, 
it  is  usually  sown  by  hand  and  harrowed  in,  but  of  course 
it  may  be  sown  otherwise. 

Shallow  sowing  is  preferred,  not  deeper  than  1  to  2 
inches  on  average  soils.  The  amount  of  seed  varies  much 
with  the  object  sought  in  sowing.  When  sown  alone  to 
provide  pasture,  where  the  rainfall  is  limited,  from  10  to 
12  pounds  of  seed  should  be  enough.  When  sown  to  pro- 
vide hay,  8  to  10  pounds  should  suffice,  and  this  quantity 
may  be  still  further  reduced  when  seed  is  sought.  The 
tendency  in  this  grass  is  to  thicken  continually  or  at 
least  up  to  a  certain  limit,  hence  the  quantities  of  seed 
sown  need  not  be  relatively  large. 

Care  of  the  crop. — It  is  usually  hazardous  to  use  a 
harrow  on  a  nurse  crop  amid  which  brome  grass  has  been 
sown,  or  the  feeble  young  plants  of  brome  may  be  de- 
stroyed. When  sown  with  a  light  nurse  crop  of  oats 
or  other  grain  in  the  spring,  the  crop  may  in  many  in- 
stances be  pastured  with  profit  to  the  same,  but  not  at  an 
early  period  of  growth.  Should  the  grass  thicken  so  as 
to  hinder  abundant  growth,  it  may  be  renewed  by  double 
discing  followed  by  the  harrow,  the  work  being  done  in 
the  early  spring.  In  other  instances  shallow  plowing 
in  the  late  autumn  or  early  spring  will  effect  the  same 
end.  The  growth  of  the  grass  may  also  be  greatly  stimu- 
lated by  top-dressings  of  farmyard  manure,  preferably 
applied  in  the  late  autumn  or  during  the  winter. 

Harvesting. — Brome  grass  is  ready  to  harvest  for 
hay  soon  after  coming  into  head.  It  is  harvested  in  the 
same  way  as  timothy  (see  p.  342).  The  feeding  quality 
of  the  hay  is  not  far  different  from  that  of  timothy,  but 
because  of  its  soft  and  somewhat  fluffy  character  it  will 
never  take  the  place  of  timothy  in  the  market.  In  the 
semi-arid  country  one  ton  should  be  looked  upon  as  a 
fairly  average  yield  of  hay  from  an  acre. 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      349 

It  is  ready  to  cut  for  seed  in  about  three  weeks  after 
coming  into  head,  or  when  the  seeds  are  full  of  meat,  but 
not  more  advanced  in  growth  than  the  dough  stage. 
More  commonly  the  crop  is  harvested  with  the  binder 
set  so  high  in  some  instances  as  to  take  only  the  seed 
stems,  thus  leaving  a  leafy  residue  that  may  be  cut  for 
hay.  The  seed  is  threshed  with  the  ordinary  thresher 
but  owing  to  its  lightness  the  wind  must  be  shut  off  from 
the  machine,  or  the  seed  will  be  blown  away.  From  300 
to  400  pounds  of  seed  are  frequently  produced  per  acre 
from  the  first  cutting  of  the  crop,  but  as  a  rule  the  yields 
grow  less  with  advancing  age  in  the  growth  of  the  plants. 

Combinations  for  brome  grass. — In  humid  areas 
these  are  many.  In  dry  areas  one  of  the  best  combina- 
tions for  brome  is  western  rye  grass  (see  p.  343).  The 
presence  of  the  brome  tends  to  thicken  the  stand.  The 
yield  of  the  combined  mixture  is,  therefore,  greater,  for 
hay  or  for  pasture  than  either  grown  alone.  But  in  dry 
areas  yields  must  not  be  looked  for  so  large  as  those  fur- 
nished in  humid  areas. 

GROWING  HAY  FROM  GRAINS 

In  dry  areas  hay  from  grains  is  sought  for  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  in  humid  areas.  This  is  owing  (1)  to 
the  larger  relative  yields  that  may  be  obtained;  (2)  to 
the  fact  that  the  hay  is  frequently  fed  without  first  thresh- 
ing the  crop,  and  (3)  because  a  more  complete  ration 
may  be  obtained  by  feeding  it  thus.  The  larger  relative 
yields  result  chiefly  from  cultivation  given  to  the  grain 
while  it  is  growing.  In  the  newer  areas,  it  is  more  con- 
venient to  feed  the  crops  than  to  thresh  them,  as  it  may 
not  be  easily  possible  to  secure  a  machine  to  do  the  work. 
When  grown  in  combination,  it  is  possible  to  produce  a 
ration  suited  to  the  needs  of  different  classes  of  stock. 
The  chief  of  the  grain  crops  thus  grown  are  rye  of  the 


350  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

winter  and   spring  varieties,   wheat,   barley,   oats,   peas 
and  vetches. 

Grown  alone  for  hay. — The  chief  of  these  crops 
grown  alone  for  hay  are  rye,  wheat,  barley  and  oats. 
The  beards  of  the  speltz  lower  its  value  greatly  for  hay, 
and  the  recumbent  growth  of  peas  and  vetches  increases 
much  the  labor  of  harvesting  when  these  crops  are 
grown  alone.  Although  rye  may  be  grown  under  climatic 
and  soil  conditions  so  rigid  as  to  prevent  the  successful 
growth  of  other  grains,  its  woody  character  gives  it  a 
much  lower  place  as  a  hay  plant  than  would  otherwise 
be  assigned  to  it.  Wheat  makes  excellent  hay  for  horses 
but  the  value  of  the  grain  renders  it  too  costly  to  feed 
thus  in  a  large  way.  Barley  is  in  high  favor  in  many 
areas,  especially  in  those  of  the  far  west  and  southwest. 
For  such  use  the  beardless  varieties  are  the  most  popular. 
Oats  are  grown  to  furnish  food  for  cows  more  than  for 
other  uses. 

Grown  in  combination  for  hay. — The  combinations 
that  will  prove  the  most  suitable  will  vary  with  the  soil 
and  climatic  conditions.  The  favorite  combinations  are: 
(1)  oats  and  peas;  (2)  barley  and  peas,  and  (3)  barley 
and  the  common  vetch.  When  thus  grown  in  proper 
combination,  the  peas  and  vetches  are  sustained  so  that 
they  may  be  harvested  with  a  grain  binder  should  this 
be  desired.  Oats  and  peas,  barley  and  peas,  and  barley 
and  vetches  furnish  most  excellent  hay  for  milch  cows. 
Nearly  mature  and  fed  with  alfalfa  hay,  the  ration  would 
be  complete  in  itself.  In  areas  where  the  precipitation 
falls  chiefly  in  the  winter,  hay  furnished  by  the  sand  vetch 
and  winter  wheat  or  winter  rye  may  yet  become  popular. 

Soils. — It  would  not  be  possible  to  state  with  exact 
precision  the  soils  that  will  best  meet  the  needs  of  these 
combinations,  but,  since  bulk  is  an  important  considera- 
tion when  growing  hay,  the  aim  should  be  to  grow  them 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      351 

on  good  soil.  Winter  rye  and  the  sand  vetch  will  grow 
better  on  soils  low  in  fertility  than  the  other  crops. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  place  in  the  rotation  for 
these  crops  is  virtually  the  same  as  when  they  are  grown 
separately  for  the  grain.  They  come  most  fittingly  on 
land  that  has  been  made  clean  and  in  which  moisture  has 
been  conserved  by  correct  processes  of  cultivation.  In 
a  normal  season,  they  will  usually  do  well  also  on  break- 
ing if  sown  early.  They  are  best  followed  by  corn  or 
fallow,  but  where  the  normal  rainfall  is  15  inches  or  more 
they  may  be  followed  by  grain  if  the  soil  has  been  judi- 
ciously prepared. 

Preparing  the  land. — The  land  should  be  prepared 
as  for  crops  sown  for  the  grain.  Although  a  clean  seed 
bed  is  very  desirable,  these  crops  will  take  less  injury 
from  the  presence  of  weeds  than  grain  crops,  as  they  may 
be  cut,  if  necessary,  considerably  short  of  maturity.  The 
weeds  may  thus  be  prevented  from  forming  seed. 

Sowing. — When  sowing  grain  alone  to  furnish  hay, 
the  procedure  is  much  the  same  as  when  sowing  it  to 
mature  seed  but  some  additional  seed  may  be  used  to 
improve  the  quality  of  the  hay  by  making  it  less  coarse 
than  it  would  otherwise  be.  In  combinations,  the  chief 
differences  arise  from  the  determination  of  the  amounts 
of  seed  to  sow,  and  some  modifications  as  to  the  method 
of  sowing  which  are  referred  to  below. 

Grain  for  hay  should  be  sown  as  soon  as  the  land  is 
in  good  condition  for  being  tilled.  Early  sowing  will 
usually  have  an  important  influence  on  the  yield.  But 
should  it  not  be  possible  to  sow  the  crop  early,  such  grain 
will  take  less  harm  than  if  it  were  to  ripen,  because  of 
the  fact  that  it  may  be  harvested  when  considerably  short 
of  maturity. 

The  seed  is  best  sown  with  the  grain  drill.  The 
depth  will  vary  with  the  kind  or  kinds,  but  usually  not 
greatly.  When  mixtures  are  sown,  in  many  instances,  it 


352  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

will  answer  quite  well  to  mix  them  before  sowing.  In 
the  case  of  peas  and  other  grain,  the  plan  is  good  which 
drills  in  the  peas  deeply  and  then  about  two  weeks  later 
drills  in  the  other  grain  less  deeply.  The  aim  should  be 
to  sow  varieties  that  ripen  nearly  at  the  same  time.  It 
will  not  be  possible  to  state  the  amounts  that  it  will  al- 
ways be  most  suitable  to  sow,  but  the  following  amounts 
will  be  approximate :  For  sowing  alone,  rye  6  pecks, 
wheat  5,  barley  5,  oats  5 ;  for  sowing  in  mixtures,  oats 
and  peas  2  and  3  pecks  respectively,  barley  and  peas  2  and 
3  pecks,  and  barley  and  vetches  2  and  3  pecks. 

Care  of  the  crop. — Usually  the  grain  may  be  har- 
rowed when  the  points  begin  to  appear.  It  may  also  be 
harrowed  once  again  or  oftener,  but  in  the  case  of  peas 
and  vetches,  the  harrowing  should  be  given  with  much 
care  after  the  crop  is  up.  Should  the  grain  be  too  thick 
it  may  be  beneficial  to  the  crop  to  harrow  out  some  of  the 
grain. 

Harvesting. — Grain  for  hay  may  be  cut  at  any  time 
fiom  the  earing  stage  until  it  is  nearly  ripe,  according  to 
the  kind  and  the  use  that  is  to  be  made  of  it.  It  is  pos- 
sessed of  maximum  nutrition  when  cut  with  the  grain  in 
the  dough  stage. 

When  grain  is  cut  for  hay,  the  aim  should  be  to  cut 
it  with  the  binder  when  practicable  and  cure  it  in  the 
shock.  The  labor  of  handling  is  thus  much  reduced,  but 
the  cost  of  the  binding  twine  must  not  be  overlooked. 
When  cut  while  yet  quite  green,  the  binding  should  not 
be  tight,  lest  some  mold  be  engendered  beneath  the  bands. 
The  aim  should  be  to  cure  it  in  long  shocks,  and  to  stack 
as  soon  as  ready,  to  prevent  over-curing.  Of  course, 
whenever  the  grain  is  cut,  it  may  be  cut  with  the  mower 
and  raked  and  cured  like  other  hay,  but  there  is  always 
more  or  less  waste  in  handling  it  thus. 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      353 

GROWING  HAY  FROM  THE  MILLETS 

Millet,  at  least  in  several  of  its  varieties,  may  be 
fairly  classed  as  a  dry  land  plant.  In  some  instances  it 
is  grown  for  the  grain,  but  more  commonly  it  is  grown 
for  the  hay.  It  has  relatively  higher  adaptation  for 
southern  than  for  northern  latitudes,  and  for  low  rather 
than  high  elevations.  It  is  readily  injured  by  frost  both 
in  the  spring  and  in  the  autumn. 

Soils. — The  best  soils  for  growing  millet  in  the  ab- 
sence of  irrigation  are  loams  well  capable  of  retaining 
moisture.  The  more  humus  which  they  contain,  the 
higher  is  their  relative  adaptation.  The  plants  have  but 
little  power  to  struggle  on  soils  leachy  and  light  and  prac- 
tically destitute  of  humus.  To  sow  them  on  pronounced- 
ly alkali  soil  is  to  throw  the  seed  away. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  place  in  the  rotation  will 
depend  somewhat  on  the  method  of  sowing.  If  the  seed 
is  broadcasted,  a  method  of  sowing  which  should  be 
avoided,  it  will  not  succeed  well  after  a  grain  crop  in  a 
normal  season,  save  where  the  rainfall  is  considerably 
above  15  inches.  Nor  can  the  growth  be  considered  safe 
when  it  is  sown  on  such  land  with  the  grain  drill,  all  the 
grain  tubes  being  in  use.  If  sown  in  spaced  rows  and 
cultivated  like  corn,  it  may  do  reasonably  well.  On  new 
breaking,  fairly  good  yields  are  obtained  from  drilling  in 
like  grain  and  even  from  broadcast  sowing  but  the  plan 
is  attended  with  some  hazard.  Ground  cultivated  or 
summer  tilled  cannot  well  be  spared  for  this  crop.  A 
cultivated  crop  on  the  summer-fallow  naturally  follows 
millet,  but  when  the  millet  crop  has  been  cultivated  a 
small  grain  crop  may  follow. 

Preparing  the  land.— While  the  preparation  of  the 
land  for  millet  should  be  fine  and  clean,  it  is  specially  im- 
portant that  the  moisture  shall  be  retained  sufficiently 
to  germinate  the  seed  when  it  is  sown.  The  late  season 


354  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

at  which  the  seed  is  sown  gives  ample  time  to  prepare 
the  land  thus.  As  millet  draws  heavily  on  the  moisture 
in  the  soil,  it  will  not  make  a  satisfactory  growth  on 
weedy  land. 

Sowing. — It  would  seem  safe  to  say  that  the  best 
dry  land  millet,  all  things  considered,  is  the  broom  corn 
variety,  although  some  other  varieties,  as  the  Hungarian, 
German  and  Japanese,  may  have  higher  adaptation  for 
sectional  areas.  Pearl  millet  is  valuable  for  southern 
areas. 

Millet  should  not  be  sown  until  the  ground  and 
weather  have  become  reasonably  warm.  Even  though 
safe  germination  should  follow  early  sowing,  the  growth 
subsequently  is  not  likely  to  be  so  satisfactory  as 
when  the  seed  is  sown  later.  About  the  'best  time  to 
sow  millet  is  at  the  close  of  the  corn  planting  season  or 
about  the  same  time  as  would  be  suitable  for  field  beans 
(see  p.  298).  When  the  seed  is  sown  with  the  drill,  all 
the  tubes  in  use,  not  more  than  l*/2  pecks  of  seed  should 
be  used  per  acre.  When  sown  in  rows  and  cultivated, 
from,  say,  4  to  8  quarts  of  seed  should  suffice,  according 
to  the  spacing  of  the  rows.  These  may  be  from,  say,  24 
to  36  inches  apart,  the  wide  spacing  giving  the  better 
opportunity  for  cultivating  the  crop.  The  seed  is  buried 
from  1  to  2  inches  or  even  to  a  greater  depth,  according 
to  the  soil  conditions. 

Care  of  the  crop. — If  millet  is  harrowed  before  the 
crop  is  up  the  aim  should  be  to  stir  the  ground  as  shal- 
low as  such  work  can  be  done.  When  the  crop  is  3  to 
4  inches  high,  harrowing  may  only  in  some  instances  be 
given  with  profit.  The  later  cultivation  given  to  the 
crop  grown  in  rows  should  be  much  the  same  as  that 
given  to  a  corn  crop  (see  p.  280). 

Harvesting. — Millet  is  ready  to  harvest  for  hay  when 
all  the  plants  are  fully  out  in  head,  and  for  seed  when  all 
have  assumed  a  golden  tint,  except  in  varieties  the  seeds 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      355 

of  which  are  some  other  tint.  When  harvested  for  hay, 
the  millet  may  be  cut  with  the  mower  or  the  binder, 
preferably  the  latter,  when  the  crop  stands  up  well  and 
the  land  is  smooth.  The  binder  should  be  set  low.  If 
mown,  the  completion  of  the  curing  should  take  place  in 
the  cock.  If  cut  and  bound  it  should  take  place  in  long- 
shocks.  The  yield  should  average  a  ton  or  somewhat 
more  per  acre.  When  harvested  for  seed  the  crop  should 
always  be  handled  like  small  grain.  The  yields  of  seed 
vary  greatly.  Broom  corn  millet  should  average  about 
20  bushels  per  acre. 

Combination  for  millet. — In  dry  areas  millet  is  but 
little  grown  in  combination  for  hay.  It  may,  however, 
be  drilled  in  with  sorghum  or  even  Kafir  corn,  but  the 
advantage  from  growing  it  in  combinations  is  to  be  ques- 
tioned. 

GROWING   PASTURE   CROPS   FROM   GRASS 

The  term  "grass"  as  used  here  includes  clovers  and 
alfalfa.  To  grow  these  pasture  crops  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  problems  that  confronts  the  dry  land  farmer. 
This  is  owing  to  the  fact,  first,  that  grass  crops  draw 
heavily  on  the  moisture  in  the  soil,  and,  second,  that  a 
dust  mulch  cannot  be  maintained  on  them  to  anything 
like  the  same  extent  as  on  a  grain  crop.  The  native 
grasses  furnish  a  relatively  small  amount  of  pasture,  and 
the  same  is  true  of  the  prickly  pear  in  far  southern  areas, 
and  the  amount  decreases  with  close  and  continued  pas- 
turing. It  is  the  estimate  of  many  ranchmen  that  from 
10  to  15  acres  are  called  for  of  native  pasture  in  dry  areas 
to  maintain  a  cattle  beast  of  nearly  mature  or  mature 
age  for  one  year.  The  dry  land  farmer  cannot  afford 
to  use  any  large  proportion  of  his  arable  land  in  that 
way,  so  small  is  the  return  from  it,  hence  the  necessity 
for  growing  other  and  relatively  more  productive  pas- 
tures. 


356  DRY  LAND   FARMING 

Pasture  plants  grown  alone. — The  grass  plants  that 
will  prove  the  most  satisfactory  in  furnishing  pastures 
under  arable  conditions  cannot  be  stated  with  absolute 
precision  at  the  present  time,  because  of  the  lack  of  ex- 
perience in  growing  these.  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
when  grown  alone,  brome  grass  (Bromus  inermis)  will 
furnish  more  grazing  over  a  wide  area  than  any  other 
grass.  Next  to  brome  grass  in  general  adaptation  is 
western  rye  grass  (Agropyrum  tenerum)  but  it  will  not 
furnish  as  much  pasture  nor  does  the  period  of  growth 
cover  nearly  so  large  a  portion  of  the  growing  season. 
There  will  be  a  more  limited  place  for  tall  oat  grass  and 
meadow  fescue.  Timothy  may  also  be  grown  under  the 
more  moist  conditions.  For  certain  kinds  of  grazing, 
alfalfa  will  also  have  an  important  place.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  plant  for  pasture  is  found,  first,  in  the  large 
growth  which  it  produces ;  second,  in  the  long  period  cov- 
ered by  its  growth,  and,  third,  in  the  fact  that  a  soil 
mulch  may  to  a  certain  extent  be  maintained  in  the  crop. 
The  value  of  sainfoin  in  thus  providing  pasture  has  yet 
to  be  determined  under  dry  conditions. 

Pasture  plants  grown  in  combination. — It  is  prob- 
able that  the  most  valuable  pastures  in  dry  areas,  as  in 
other  areas,  will  be  those  that  are  grown  in  certain  com- 
binations. Here,  also,  the  grasses  that  will  furnish  the 
best  pastures  cannot  be  stated  with  precision  from  lack 
of  experience  in  growing  them.  In  the  northern  por- 
tions of  the  semi-arid  belt,  a  mixture  of  brome,  western 
rye  and  alfalfa  will  probably  furnish  more  pasture  than 
any  other  grass  combination  that  can  be  grown.  Far- 
ther south,  tall  oat  grass  or  meadow  fescue  will  probably 
take  the  place  of  brome  grass.  In  the  more  moist  areas, 
as  where  the  annual  rainfall  is  near  20  inches,  the  old- 
time  pasture,  timothy  and  clover,  will  probably  best  serve 
the  end  sought. 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      357 

Soils. — Since  on  the  arable  farms,  the  aim  should  be 
to  rotate  the  pastures  more  or  less  with  other  crops,  the 
fact  remains  that  these  will  grow  best  on  moist  soils.  The 
aim  should  be,  therefore,  to  grow  them  to  a  greater  ex- 
tent on  the  more  moist  soils  of  the  farm.  On  the  drier 
lands,  grain  pastures  may  serve  the  purpose  relatively 
better. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — The  aim  should  be  to  start 
pastures  on  clean  land,  hence  they  should  be  sown  as  a 
rule  on  fallowed  or  cultivated  land.  Whether  it  would 
answer  to  sow  them  after  small  grain,  and  pasture  them 
the  season  that  they  are  sown  in  order  to  keep  down 
weeds  and  to  firm  the  land  by  the  treading  has  not  been 
ascertained  as  yet.  Nor  has  it  been  determined  as  to 
how  long  the  land  should  be  kept  in  pasture.  The  indi- 
cations at  present  are,  however,  that,  all  things  consid- 
ered, short  rotations  will  prove  the  most  satisfactory. 
The  crops  that  follow  .pastures  will  be  the  same  as  those 
that  follow  newly  broken  prairie,  that  is,  such  crops  as 
winter  wheat  on  fallow  land,  or  such  crops  as  flax,  corn  or 
potatoes  on  sod  land  that  has  been  broken  in  the  spring. 

Preparing  the  land. — While  it  is  important  that  the 
soil  shall  be  fine,  firm  below  and  clean,  that  is  to  be  sown 
to  grass,  it  may  be  very  difficult  to  provide  for  it  a  clean 
seed  bed.  This  may  arise,  first,  from  the  fact  that  in  a  dry 
season  weed  seeds  may  not  germinate  though  near  the 
surface,  on  fallow  or  on  cultivated  land,  but  may  germi- 
nate the  next  season  after  the  grasses  have  been  sown.  It 
may  arise,  second,  from  the  large  amount  of  weed  seed 
that  may  be  carried  to  clean  land  and  strewn  over  the 
same.  These  contingencies  may  prove  a  real  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  getting  a  clean  stand  of  grass.  Because  of 
this,  it  may  be  wise  to  sow  some  of  these  grasses  with  a 
nurse  crop  sown  early  in  the  season. 

Sowing. — At  the  present  time  it  would  not  be  pos- 
sible to  state  positively  the  very  best  method  of  sowing 


358  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

grasses  in  combination  under  all  conditions.  The 
methods  of  sowing  these  singly  have  already  been  dis- 
cussed. It  would  seem  reasonable,  however,  to  expect 
that  one  of  the  best  combinations  that  can  be  sown  will 
consist  of  brome  grass,  western  rye  grass  and  alfalfa. 
The  seed  may  be  mixed  before  sowing  it.  It  would  seem 
safe  to  say  that  the  best  method  of  sowing  the  mixture 
would  be  with  the  grain  drill  and  along  with  a  nurse 
crop  of,  say,  2  pecks  of  oats  or  some  other  grain.  It 
should  be  sown  to  the  depth  of  afoout  2  inches  in  average 
soil,  but  due  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  character- 
istics of  soil  where  the  mixture  is  sown.  About  4  pounds 
each  of  the  mixture  should  prove  enough  for  an  acre. 
Under  some  conditions  the  crop  may  be  grazed  the  first 
season,  but  not  until  the  plants  have  become  firmly  root- 
ed in  the  soil.  In  other  instances  it  may  be  better  to 
cut  the  nurse  crop  for  hay  and  to  defer  the  grazing  until 
the  second  season. 

Grazing  the  pastures. — One  great  advantage  result- 
ing from  growing  alfalfa  in  the  mixture  is  the  large 
amount  relatively  of  the  pasture  which  it  will  furnish. 
A  second  benefit  arises  from  the  safe  nature  of  the  pas- 
ture. When  alfalfa  is  thus  grazed  along  with  other 
grass  pastures  the  danger  from  bloat  is  virtually  elim- 
inated. But  when  thus  grazed  the  alfalfa  would  prob- 
ably be  the  first  of  these  grasses  to  fail.  The  brome 
would  probably  be  the  most  enduring  because  it  is  the 
most  aggressive.  In  time  it  would  practically  take  pos- 
session of  the  land. 

The  grazing  should  not  be  too  close.  When  grass  is 
grazed  down  too  closely  the  hot  sun  saps  the  moisture 
from  the  unprotected  land,  and  it  may  also  result  in  the 
partial  destruction  of  the  stand  of  grass.  It  may  not 
be  easy,  however,  to  regulate  the  closeness  of  the  de- 
pasturing, because  of  the  great  variations  in  the  seasons. 
These  pastures  may  usually  be  much  benefited  by  top 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      359 

dressings  of  farmyard  manure,  more  especially  when 
these  may  be  applied  in  the  winter  season.  They  may 
be  also  helped  by  discing  in  the  spring  and  following  the 
disc  with  the  harrow. 

The  duration  of  those  pastures  will  vary  with  the 
conditions.  There  may  be  conditions  in  which  it  will  be 
desirable  to  prolong  them  for  a  long  term  of  years.  Again 
there  may  be  conditions  when  they  should  be  maintained 
for  not  more  than  2  or  3  years.  Pastures  of  relatively 
short  duration  will  usually  prove  the  most  satisfactory 
in  semi-arid  areas,  because,  first,  of  the  more  abundant 
grazing  obtained  from  the  fresh  pastures,  and,  second, 
from  the  benefit  resulting  from  the  frequent  burial  of 
humus  in  the  soil. 

GROWING  PASTURE  CROPS  FROM  GRAIN 

Many  of  the  farmers  in  the  semi-arid  country  will 
obtain  pasture  from  three  sources.  They  will  obtain  it, 
first,  from  the  rental  of  rugged  and  untillable  lands  in 
proximity  to  their  holdings ;  second,  from  grass  pastures 
grown  upon  their  farms,  and,  third,  from  the  grain  pas- 
tures grown  to  supplant  the  grass  pastures.  It  would 
seem  correct  to  say  that  the  more  dry  the  conditions  are, 
the  greater  is  the  necessity  for  growing  grass  pastures, 
and  the  greater  relatively  will  be  the  benefits  obtained 
from  growing  them. 

Pasture  from  grain  grown  alone. — Winter  rye  stands 
at  the  head  of  the  grain  crops  that  may  be  grown  in  dry 
areas  for  furnishing  grazing.  For  such  a  use  it  would 
probably  be  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  it  is  more  valuble 
than  all  other  cereal  grains.  When  sown  early  it  may  be 
grazed  in  the  autumn,  and  again  in  the  spring.  Winter 
wheat  when  sown  early  may  be  grazed  in  the  autumn 
when  sufficiently  strong,  but  in  the  spring  it  will  not 
stand  grazing  as  rye  does,  especially  when  a  crop  of  grain 
is  to  be  obtained  from  it  the  same  season.  It  would 


360  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

seem  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  sand  vetch  has  an 
important  mission  in  supplying  pasture  in  dry  areas,  but 
the  value  of  this  plant  for  such  a  mission  has  not  been 
fully  determined.  But  any  of  the  spring  grains  may  be 
thus  used  in  providing  grazing,  more  especially  when 
the  weather  is  adverse  to  profitable  production  in  the 
crop  if  allowed  to  mature.  In  such  instances  it  may  be 
more  profitable  to  graze  the  crop  and  then  to  summer- 
fallow  the  land  to  prepare  it  for  a  crop  that  will  follow. 
This  method  of  procedure  would  be  vastly  ahead  of  that 
which  allows  the  crop  to  continue  to  sap  moisture  from 
the  soil  as  soon  as  it  is  certain  that  the  crop  has  failed 
from  lack  of  moisture,  or  for  other  reasons. 

Pasture  from  grains  grown  in  combination. — More 
pasture  will  be  obtained  from  grains  grown  in  combina- 
tion than  from  grains  grown  alone.  This  follows  from 
the  fact  that  the  maximum  periods  for  best  growth  in  the 
various  grains  differ.  When  several  are  grown  together 
the  period  of  good  grazing  is,  therefore,  more  prolonged 
than  if  these  were  grown  separately  for  the  purpose  of 
providing  pasture.  This  will  hold  true  of  autumn  and 
also  of  spring  grains,  but  these  should  not  be  sown 
together  in  order  to  provide  pasture. 

The  best  combination  of  autumn-sown  grains  to  pro- 
vide pasture  is  probably  winter  rye  and  the  sand  vetch. 
Next  to  this  would  probably  be  winter  wheat  and  the 
sand  vetch.  The  value  of  this  combination  will  depend 
in  a  considerable  degree  on  the  behavior  of  the  sand  vetch 
when  thus  grown  and  this  has  not  been  fully  determined 
in  many  areas  of  the  dry  region.  The  spring-sown  grains 
will  probably  furnish  increased  grazing  in  proportion  as 
the  number  of  various  classes  of  grains  are  used  in  the 
admixture.  But  when  determining  the  mixtures  that 
shall  be  grown,  the  market  values  should  be  considered. 
As  a  rule  the  policy  will  be  wise  that  selects  the  grains 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  AREAS      361 

that  are  cheap  to  grow  in  the  combination  rather  than 
those  that  are  dear. 

Soils. — The  soils  for  these  crops  include  any  soil  that 
will  furnish  a  good  crop  of  any  of  the  small  grains  that 
will  furnish  good  pasture.  These  have  already  been 
discussed  when  showing  how  to  grow  the  various  grains 
used  in  providing  pasture  when  these  are  grown  to  pro- 
vide grain.  The  only  real  differences  in  the  methods  of 
growing  them  are  such  as  arise  from  the  different  amount 
of  seed  required.  The  soils  that  will  grow  grains  at 
their  best  for  seed  in  dry  areas  will  also  as  a  rule  grow 
them  best  for  pasture.  Any  productive  clay  or  sandy 
loam  soil  will  grow  good  pasture  crops. 

Place  in  the  rotation. — Since  pasture  crops  from 
grain  are  usually  grazed  down  early  in  the  season,  they 
may  generally  follow  with  much  propriety  a  small-grain 
crop  and  in  turn  be  followed  by  the  bare-fallow.  After  the 
bulk  of  the  grazing  has  been  completed  there  will  still 
be  time  to  summer-fallow  the  soil  the  same  season.  Es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  the  grains  that  have  been  sown  the 
previous  summer  or  autumn. 

Preparing  the  soil. — The  soil  for  grain  pastures  is 
prepared  virtually  the  same  for  the  grains  that  provide 
the  pastures  as  when  these  are  grown  to  provide  grain 
rather  than  pasture.  The  more  clean  and  moist  and  fri- 
able near  the  surface,  and  the  more  firm  that  it  is  below, 
the  higher  is  the  adaptation  of  the  soil  for  grain  pastures. 
But  cleanness  in  the  soil  is  not  nearly  so  essential  as 
when  growing  these  crops  for  grain,  as  the  grazing  pre- 
vents the  major  portion  of  the  weeds  from  going  to  seed, 
and  the  residue  that  may  escape  the  grazing  are  buried 
in  the  summer-fallowing  process  that  usually  follows. 

Sowing. — The  best  time  for  sowing  a  combination 
of  winter  rye  and  the  sand  vetch  or  winter  wheat  and 
the  sand  vetch,  in  order  to  provide  grazing  in  dry  areas, 
is  probably  the  month  of  June.  The  seed  will  then  ger- 


362  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

minate  readily  where  the  bulk  of  the  precipitation  comes 
in  the  growing  season.  The  grazing  should  be  close  un- 
til the  autumn  to  lessen  the  draft  on  soil  moisture. 
In  areas  where  the  precipitation  comes  largely  in  the 
autumn  and  winter  months,  these  grains  may  be  best 
sown  on  the  arrival  of  the  autumn  rains.  When  grains 
are  sown  to  provide  pasture  in  the  spring,  as  a  rule  the 
earlier  they  are  sown  the  more  valuable  will  be  the 
pastures  which  they  furnish. 

When  winter  rye  or  winter  wheat  are  sown  to  pro- 
vide grazing,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  largest  amount 
of  grazing  will  be  obtained  from  these  grains  if  sown 
in  June  and  kept  closely  grazed  until  sometime  in  the 
autumn,  the  grazing  being  made  to  cease  in  time  to 
allow  the  grains  to  make  more  or  less  top  to  furnish  some 
winter  protection.  The  grazing  may  begin  again  early 
in  the  spring  unless  .the  crop  is  to  be  grown  for  fodder 
or  for  the  grain.  When  grains  are  sown  in  the  spring  to 
provide  pasture,  the  aim  should  be  to  sow  them  early. 

When  the  grains  are  sown  separately  or  in  combi- 
nations, the  aim  should  be  to  sow  them  with  the  drill  and 
to  put  them  so  far  down  that  they  will  germinate  readily. 
When  sown  alone,  about  50  per  cent,  more  seed  may  be 
sown  for  pasture  than  is  sown  for  grain.  When  sown 
in  combinations  not  less  usually  than  6  pecks  of  the  mix- 
ture should  be  sown  in  the  autumn  and  in  some  instances 
8  pecks  would  be  better.  The  proportion  of  the  sand  or 
other  vetch  that  may  be  sown  can  only  be  fully  deter- 
mined by  experiment.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  in 
but  few  instances,  if  indeed  any,  should  less  than  2  pecks 
of  the  vetch  be  sown  per  acre.  When  grains  are  sown 
in  combination  in  the  spring  not  less  than  6  to  8  pecks 
should  be  sown.  The  thicker  seeding  is  called  for  to 
furnish  more  plants  for  grazing.  As  they  are  usually 
grazed  down  so  as  to  prevent  high  top  growth,  they  draw 


HAY  AND  PASTURE  CROPS  IN  DRY  ARrEAS      363 

less  heavily  on  moisture  than  plants  pushing  on  toward 
maturity. 

Grazing  the  pastures. — The  grazing  of  the  summer 
or  autumn  sown  pastures  should  be  close  until  the  dry 
season  is  about  over.  The  amount  of  grazing  obtained 
may  not  be  very  large  in  very  dry  seasons,  but  the  close 
grazing  lessens  the  drain  on  the  moisture  in  the  soil. 
Spring  grains  will  probably  furnish  more  grazing  if  al- 
lowed to  make  a  good  start  before  the  grazing  begins. 
Should  the  grazing  not  be  wanted  the  grain  should  be 
buried  at  the  proper  season  for  plowing  fallow  land,  tak- 
ing care  not  to  let  it  get  so  far  advanced  before  plowing 
it  as  to  retard  quick  decay  in  the  plants  when  buried. 


CHAPTER  XV 
GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS 

The  absence  of  trees  on  the  prairie  and  bench  lands 
of  the  west  gives  to  it  something  of  the  appearance  of  a 
land  that  may  not  be  inhabited,  in  the  sense  that  it  will 
become  a  land  of  permanent  homes.  There  is  a  lone- 
some look  about  it  that  does  not  attract,  and  in  the  win- 
ter season  the  lack  of  trees  around  the  dwelling  certainly 
adds  much  to  the  discomfort  of  its  inmates.  The  apathy 
shown  by  many  of  the  dwellers  on  the  prairies  in  areas 
where  farm  crops  have  been  grown  for  several  years  is 
in  a  sense  almost  unexplainable.  Many  dwellings  may 
be  found  on  northwestern  prairies  where  the  farms  on 
which  they  stand  have  been  cultivated  for  a  score  of 
years,  and  yet  not  a  single  tree  or  shrub  has  been  planted 
on  the  farm  during  all  that  time.  This  course,  which 
is  greatly  to  be  deplored,  may  arise,  in  many  instances, 
from  the  too  commonly  cherished  view  that  the  farmer 
will  get  all  he  can  for  a  term  of  years  from  the  land  which 
he  tills,  and  he  will  then  remove  to  other  lands  which  he 
regards  as  more  congenial. 

Can  trees  and  fruits  be  grown. — The  answer  to  this 
question  is  of  great  moment  to  those  who  dwell  on  the 
newly  occupied  lands  of  the  dry  area  and  also  to  those 
who  are  seeking  homes  on  the  same.  On  the  answer  will 
depend  the  permanency  of  the  farming  in  much  of  the 
dry  area,  for  one  cannot  imagine  indefinite  continuity  in 
the  tilling  of  the  soil  in  an  exposed  country  in  the  entire 
absence  of  trees.  But  why  should  the  ability  to  grow 
trees  be  doubted?  For  the  same  reason  that  the  success- 
ful tillage  of  the  soil  was  doubted  for  many  years.  The 
fact  had  not  been  demonstrated,  just  as  the  fact  has  not 
been  demonstrated  on  wide  areas  in  the  dry  region  as  to 
whether  trees  can  be  grown.  On  the  dry  bench  lands 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  365 

of  Montana,  for  instance,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  find  a 
windbreak  or  a  grove  at  the  present  time.  Nothwith- 
gtanding,  the  following  may  be  said  meanwhile  with  safe- 
ty: (1)  Windbreaks  and  trees  may  be  grown  with  suc- 
cess without  the  aid  of  applied  water;  (2)  that  the  suc- 
cess in  growing  them  will  vary  greatly  with  the  condi- 
tions, and  (3)  there  are  instances  in  which  the  aid  of 
applied  water  is  essential  to  success. 


DRY  LAND  YOUNG  APPLE  ORCHARD. 
On  Shore  of  Flathead  Lake,  Montana. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

That  windbreaks  and  trees  may  be  grown  on  nearly 
all  the  tillable  land  of  the  semi-arid  area  may  be  safely 
assumed  from  the  following:  (1)  Certain  forms  of  trees, 
or  at  least  of  shrub  life,  grow  on  much  of  the  unbroken 
area  without  the  aid  of  man,  as  witnessed  in  the  sage 
brush  and  other  forms  of  tree  life  that  maintain  an  exist- 
ence in  areas  where  even  grass  cannot  maintain  a  foot- 
hold. In  some  areas  where  the  precipitation  is  in  the 
neighborhood  of  10  inches,  as  for  instance  central  Oregon, 


366  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

much  of  the  land  is  covered  with  sage  brush  of  more  or 
less  vigor  in  its  growth.  Where  shrub  life  can  maintain  its 
hold  upon  the  soil  unaided  under  such  conditions,  there 
would  seem  to  be  no  hazard  in  assuming  that  higher 
forms  of  shrub  and  even  of  tree  life  can  be  produced 
under  judicious  cultivation.  Under  very  dry  conditions 
cedars  maintain  an  existence  in  the  Great  Basin  and  the 
mesquite  in  Arizona  under  conditions  equally  dry.  (2) 
In  the  very  few  instances  in  which  attempts  have 
been  made  to  grow  trees  and  shrubs,  a  fair  measure  of 
success  has  followed  where  the  work  has  been  judiciously 
done.  (3)  It  would  seem  safe  to  claim  that  wherever 
grain  crops  may  be  grown  successfully  the  measure  of 
the  precipitation  that  will  grow  grain  will  make  it  pos- 
sible also  to  grow  certain  forms  of  trees  and  shrubs, 
where  the  land  has  been  properly  prepared  before  plant- 
ing the  trees,  and  where  proper  care  is  given  after  the 
planting. 

That  the  results  from  growing  trees  and  fruits  over 
so  wide  an  area  will  differ  greatly  is  in  no  way  surprising. 
They  are  the  outcome  of  a  difference  in  soil,  in  the  amount 
of  the  precipitation  and  in  temperature.  Nearly  all  of  the 
soil  in  the  entire  dry  area  is  well  adapted  to  the  growing 
of  fruit.  Especially  where  the  real  volcanic  ash  soils 
prevail  is  the  adaptation  superlative.  The  tendency  to 
fruiting  in  the  trees  grown  on  these  soils  is  remarkable. 
Of  course  where  the  precipitation  is  the  highest,  trees 
and  fruits  are  the  most  easily  grown  in  the  absence  of 
irrigation.  For  instance,  in  the  upper  valleys  of  the  Co- 
lumbia and  its  branches,  fruit  may  be  readily  grown  in 
the  absence  of  irrigation,  but  it  cannot  be  thus  grown  in 
the  lower  valleys  of  the  same.  West  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains only  the  more  hardy  fruits  can  be  grown,  whereas 
east  of  the  same,  varieties  much  less  hardy  are  quite  easily 
grown. 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  367 

In  many  of  the  dry  states  there  are  areas  where  trees 
and  fruits  cannot  be  grown  with  much  or  even  with  any 
success  in  the  absence  of  irrigating  waters.  The  areas 
are  many,  however,  where  they  cannot  be  thus  grown, 
in  which  the-additional  water  called  for  is  so  little  that 
for  the  needs  of  the  home  it  may  be  supplied  by  a  wind- 
mill and  the  accompanying  tank. 

What  should  be  sought  in  trees. — Trees  should  be 
grown  primarily:  (1)  to  furnish  protection  for  the  home; 
(2)  to  furnish  protection  for  the  fruits  grown,  and  (3)  to 
furnish  posts  for  fencing.  Whether  the  growing  of  trees 
for  timber  will  ever  become  at  all  general  cannot  be  fore- 
casted with  certainty  at  the  present  time.  Meanwhile  it 
has  little  or  no  place  in  connection  with  dry  land 
farming. 

That  homes  are  benefited  by  the  protection  fuf- 
nished  by  windbreaks  and  groves  under  nearly  all  condi- 
tions, will  not  be  questioned.  Even  in  sheltered  nooks 
and  valleys  where  the  annoying  winds  are  not  greatly 
prevalent,  the  shade  furnished  by  trees  around  the  dwell- 
ing is  very  grateful.  On  the  prairie  and  bench  lands  the 
need  of  trees  for  shelter  is  in  a  sense  imperative.  Of 
course,  life  may  be  lived  in  their  absence,  but  when  thus 
lived  it  is  in  more  senses  than  one  a  life  of  privation. 

In  wind-swept  areas,  as  for  instance  in  much  of  the 
Great  Plains  country,  windbreaks  and  groves  are  a  great 
protection  to  the  trees  planted  inside  of  them,  or  at  least 
on  the  leeward  side.  The  wind  currents  will  cause  fruit 
trees  and  shrubs  exposed  to  them  to  lean  too  much  in  one 
direction.  The  fruit  will  also  in  the  case  of  the  larger 
trees  be  blown  off  before  it  has  reached  maturity,  be- 
cause of  the  swaying  of  the  limbs.  In  many  areas,  in  the 
absence  of  such  protection,  fruit  raising  cannot  be  made 
a  success,  even  when  the  other  conditions  are  present 
that  would  lead  to  a  successful  issue.  Some  small  fruits, 


368  DRY  LAND   FARMING 

as  currants  or  gooseberries,  may  be  grown  without  such 
protection,  but  even  these  will  profit  by  its  presence. 

When  live  stock  is  kept  on  the  farms  of  the  semi-arid 
region,  as  it  will  be  in  the  near  future,  to  some  extent  at 
least,  fences  will  be  necessary.  The  posts  will  be  one  of 
the  most  costly  items  of  the  expense  where  they  have 
to  be  purchased.  This  at  least  will  hold  good  in  the 
Great  Plains  region,  where  the  long  distance  of  the  trans- 
portation will  prove  costly.  Where  these  may  be  grown, 
the  cost  will  not  be  nearly  so  much.  One  acre  devoted 
to  growing  posts  should  furnish  several  thousands  of 
posts,  varying,  of  course,  with  the  kind.  As  several 
years  are  called  for  to  grow  trees  large  enough  for  posts, 
the  homesteader  should  not  defer  planting  longer  than 
may  be  absolutely  necessary.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
trees  that  are  to  furnish  groves. 

What  should  be  sought  in  fruits. — When  growing 
fruits  the  aim  should  be  (1)  to  grow  only  such  fruits  as 
are  likely  to  succeed ;  (2)  to  grow  them  mainly  for  the 
home;  (3)  to  have  some  water  in  reserve  to  aid  in  the 
proper  maturing  of  the  crop,  and  (4)  to  defer  planting 
no  longer  than  may  be  necessary. 

It  may  not  be  possible  at  present  to  determine  the 
fruits  that  will  grow  best  in  the  various  portions  of  the 
dry  area,  for  the  reason  that  this  has  not  been  proved, 
either  with  reference  to  species  or  to  variety,  at  least  in 
very  many  areas.  It  is  known,  however,  (1)  that  only 
hardy  fruits  will  succeed  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
save  in  the  southern  portions  of  the  same ;  (2)  that  vari- 
eties less  hardy,  but  possessed  of  more  valuable  qualities, 
may  be  grown  east  of  the  same;  (3)  that  in  southern 
areas  species  will  succeed  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  try 
to  grow  in  northern  areas.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  to 
select  varieties  to  grow  in  a  tentative  way  that  will  not 
prove  disappointing  when  grown. 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  369 

In  dry  areas,  as  intimated  previously,  fruits  should  be 
grown  mainly  for  the  home.  This  at  least  should  be  the 
rule  where  the  hazard  is  present  that  they  may  be  in- 
jured during  the  ripening  period  by  a  shortage  in  the 
moisture  supply.  This  idea,  however,  must  not  be 
pressed  too  far,  as  in  certain  areas  of  the  semi-arid  coun- 
try fruits  are  being  grown  with  much  profit  without  irri- 
gating waters  where  the  rainfall  is  less  than  18  inches. 
Parsons,  of  Colorado,  has  grown,  with  much  profit,  ap- 
ples, plums  and  cherries,  with  a  rainfall  annually  of  about 
14  inches.  Nevertheless,  the  fact  remains  that  where  the 
rainfall  is  less  than  15  inches  per  year  many  fruits  can- 
not be  grown  so  cheaply  as  to  compete  successfully  in  the 
general  market  with  the  same  fruits  grown  with  a  rain- 
fall of  not  less  than,  say,  18  inches,  or  by  the  aid  of  irri- 
gation. This,  however,  does  not  justify  neglecting  to 
grow  them  for  the  home,  even  where  much  care  must  be 
exercised  to  insure  successful  work. 

The  amount  called  for  to  supply  the  needs  of  the 
home  is  not  large  in  any  instance,  hence  the  land  devoted 
to  such  use  need  not  cover  more  than  a  small  area,  the 
care  of  which  will  not  involve  great  labor.  The  limited 
area  thus  involved  will  make  it  quite  practicable  in  many 
instances  to  furnish  enough  water  from  a  well  and  tank 
to  insure  safe  maturing  in  the  fruit,  should  such  aid  be 
called  for.  Many  seasons  it  may  not  be  needed,  but  even 
in  very  dry  seasons  the  farmer  thus  prepared  may  secure 
a  full  supply  of  fruit. 

The  wisdom  of  planting  some  fruits  until  a  wind- 
break has  been  started  that  will  furnish  some  protection 
for  the  fruits  is  to  be  questioned,  but  only  under  condi- 
tions of  extreme  exposure.  A  windbreak,  however,  will 
usually  furnish  some  protection  within  one  year  of  the 
time  of  planting.  Consequently  fruits  that  are  favored 
by  protection,  may  be  planted  on  the  lee  side  of  a  wind- 
break one  year  after  the  planting  of  the  same.  The 


370  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

windbreak  will  thus  make  two  years'  growth  before 
the  fruits  planted  contiguous  to  it  will  enter  the  first  win- 
ter after  planting.  This  would  mean,  therefore,  that  the 
homesteader  may  be  ready  to  plant  such  fruits  as  need 
protection  in  exposed  situations,  in,  say,  two  years  from 
the  time  of  breaking  the  sod  where  the  windbreak  is 
to  be  planted. 

Trees  suitable  for  dry  areas. — The  trees  that  may  be 
grown  in  dry  areas  may  be  divided  into  the  three  classes : 
(1)  for  windbreaks;  (2)  for  groves,  and  (3)  for  fence 
posts.  It  should  be  remembered  that  suitability  for  any 
of  these  uses  will  vary  with  the  conditions,  insomuch  that 
what  is  best  suited  to  one  locality  may  be  quite  unsuited 
to  another. 

For  windbreaks,  all  things  considered,  the  common 
white  or  gray  willow  will  best  serve  the  purpose  when  a 
windbreak  is  to  be  grown,  and  especially  in  northern 
areas.  It  is  hardy,  of  quick  growth,  and  the  branches  will 
grow  very  closely  together.  Moreover,  although  it  has 
highest  adaptation  for  moist  conditions  and  humid  cli- 
mates, it  will  grow  reasonably  well  on  the  bench  lands 
of  dry  areas.  It  would  seem  correct  to  say  that  no  other 
tree  will  furnish  protection  within  so  short  a  time.  Wind- 
breaks may  also  be  made  by  growing  box-elder  trees  in 
a  way  that  will  cause  them  to  branch  from  the  ground 
upward,  as  has  been  so  well  exemplified  by  Mr.  Angus 
Mackay  in  growing  them  thus  at  the  experiment  station 
at  Indian  Head,  Sask.  In  some  areas  it  is  practicable  to 
grow  evergreen  windbreaks  by  the  judicious  planting  of 
and  caring  for  the  trees.  Black  Hills  spruce  of  far  west- 
ern South  Dakota,  the  jack  pine  and  the  bull  pine  (pinus 
ponderosa) — all  these  are  now  being  grown  under  nur- 
sery conditions. 

For  groves,  the  green  ash,  the  elm,  the  oak  in  more 
than  one  of  its  varieties,  the  box-elder,  the  catalpa,  the 
black  walnut,  the  black  locust,  the  silverleaf  poplar  and 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  371 

the  cedar  and  yellow  pine  may  be  grown.  The  oak,  cedar 
and  yellow  pine  are  all  of  slow  growth.  Poplar  trees 
grow  quickly  but  are  not  usually  long  lived.  The  catal- 
pa  and  black  locust  grow  quickly  and  the  box-elder 
fairly  so,  but  these  are  not  long  lived.  The  green  ash 
grows  somewhat  slowly,  but  all  in  all  it  is  one  of  the 
most  satisfactory  trees  that  can  be  grown.  The  catalpa 
and  the  black  locust  are  not  to  be  relied  on  in  the  Great 
Plains  area  north  of  the  parallel  43  north  latitude. 

For  fence  posts,  the  white  willow,  the  diamond  wil- 
low, the  catalpa,  the  black  locust  and  the  green  ash  may 
all  be  grown,  also  the  cedar,  but  the  latter  is  of  very 
slow  growth.  The  white  willow  will  furnish  posts  more 
quickly  and  in  greater  number  than  any  of  the  other 
trees  mentioned.  They  are  not  durable  if  cut  and  set  at 
once,  but  will  last  for  several  years  if  the  bark  is  re- 
moved and  the  posts  are  dried  before  planting  them.  If 
treated  with  creosote  it  would  seem  safe  to  infer  that 
they  would  last  still  longer,  and  that  the  same  would  be 
true  of  all  posts.  The  diamond  willow  is  very  durable 
as  a  post,  but  it  does  not  grow  so  quickly  nor  so  erectly 
and  straight  as  the  white  willow.  Moreover,  it  has  high- 
er adaptation  for  damp  ground,  hence  the  aim  should  be 
to  grow  it  with  the  aid  of  applied  water,  or  at  least  on 
land  with  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  moisture.  The 
catalpa  and  the  black  locust  are  both  durable,  especially 
the  latter,  and  both  grow  well  in  the  central  and  southern 
areas  of  the  dry  belt.  The  green  ash  will  grow  straight 
and  tall  if  put  in  between  other  trees,  as  the  poplar,  the 
branches  of  which  crowd  it,  as  it  were.  If  the  posts  are 
peeled  and  dried  before  planting,  they  will  last  for  sev- 
eral years. 

It  will  doubtless  be  found  quite  practicable  to  grow 
ornamental  hedges  when  the  time  comes  for  such  plant- 
ing. The  Caragana  and  the  Russian  olive  have  much 
adaptation  for  furnishing  such  hedges.  There  are  also 


372  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

certain  shrubs  adapted  to  dry  areas.  These  include  li- 
lacs, spireas  and  certain  kinds  of  roses.  In  view  of  these 
facts,  the  hope  may  be  cherished  that,  ere  many  years 
shall  pass,  the  transformations  in  the  appearance  of  the 
dry  country  will  be  marked. 

Fruits  suitable  for  dry  areas. — For  the  purposes  of 
this  discussion,  fruits  may  be  divided  into  three  classes, 
viz.,  small,  medium  and  large.  In  addition  are  vines 
such  as  grapes.  Small  fruits  are  usually  grown  more 
safely  and  more  successfully  than  large  ones,  and  chiefly 
for  the  reason  that  the  latter  mature  their  fruit  later, 
when,  generally  speaking,  moisture  is  less  plentiful. 
Nearly  all  varieties  of  small  fruits  mature  somewhat 
early  in  the  season. 

Among  the  small  fruits  that  may  be  grown  with  more 
or  less  success  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  dry  area,  are 
currants,  gooseberries,  raspberries,  strawberries  and  the 
sand  cherry.  The  varieties  will  vary  with  location,  hence 
it  will  avail  but  little  to  name  varieties,  but  as  hardiness 
is  a  matter  of  much  importance  in  fruits  grown  in  the 
Great  Plains  region,  it  may  be  in  place  to  mention  some 
varieties  of  proved  hardiness.  Among  these  are  the 
common  red  currant,  the  Downing  gooseberry,  the  Turn- 
er and  the  Cuthbert  raspberry,  and  the  Bederwood  and 
Senator  Dunlap  strawberry.  The  sand  cherry  and  the 
wild  black  currant  are  among  the  very  hardiest  of  the 
small  fruits.  All,  or  nearly  all,  of  these  mature  their 
fruits  before  the  period  of  greatest  drought. 

Among  the  intermediate  fruits  are  the  cherry,  the 
plum,  the  peach,  the  apricot  and  the  date.  These,  ex- 
cept the  two  classes  first  named,  cannot  be  grown  profit- 
ably in  dry  areas  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
hardy  varieties  of  cherries  include  the  Early  Richmond, 
the  Early  May,  the  Montmorency  and  the  English  Mo- 
rello.  Sweet  cherries  may  be  grown  in  many  areas  in 
the  Inter-mountain  region.  The  plum  has  special  adapta- 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  373 

tion  for  being  grown  under  hard  conditions  in  at  least 
several  of  its  varieties.  Some  of  these  are  native,  even 
to  areas  of  the  Great  Plains  region,  where  the  climate  is 
severe.  Hardy  varieties  include  the  Wild  Goose,  the 
Weaver,  the  Minor,  and  the  Wolf  and  many  others.  In 
the  milder  latitudes,  varieties  of  superior  merit  may  be 
grown. 

Among  the  large  fruits,  the  apple  will  always  have 
first  place,  but  pears  and  quinces  are  not  unimportant. 


DRY   LAND  APPLE  ORCHARD,  NEAR  KALISPELL,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

Pears  cannot  be  successfully  grown  in  many  localities 
in  the  dry  area  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  this 
is  not  true  of  them  eastward  from  the  same.  Apples  of 
some  varieties  may  be  grown  in  even  the  coldest  areas 
of  the  Great  Plains,  but  in  some  localities  to  grow  them 
with  any  considerable  success  calls  for  much  care  in 
furnishing  for  them  adequate  protection.  Among  the 
varieties  with  adaptation  for  those  areas  are  the  Tran- 
scendent Crab,  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  Hibernal  and  Ben 


374  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Davis.  Varieties  with  adaptation  for  areas  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  include  Yellow  Transparent,  Winesap, 
Wealthy,  Gano,  Alexander,  Jonathan  and  Rome  Beauty. 

The  Russian  Mulberry,  which  produces  a  large  tree 
relatively,  bears  small  fruit  and  much  of  it,  which  is  of 
some  value.  It  is  drought-resistant  in  a  marked  degree. 
Grapes  will  not  succeed  in  the  northern  areas  of  the  Great 
Plains  region,  but  they  will  succeed  in  portions  of  the 
Great  Basin  and  in  some  other  areas.  There  is  no  tree 
probably  that  will  stand  drought  better  than  the  olive. 
In  Arizona  olive  trees  have  succeeded  where  the  aver- 
age rainfall  is  not  more  than  10  inches.  This  would 
seem  to  indicate  an  important  place  for  the  cultivation 
of  this  fruit  in  southern  areas  of  the  dry  belt  in  the 
not  distant  future.  Other  fruits,  as  the  Chinese  date 
and  certain  varieties  of  the  fig,  may  yet  come  to  be 
grown  in  the  same  areas. 

Making  ready  for  planting. — When  preparing  for 
planting  trees  and  fruits,  careful  thought  should  be  given 
to  the  general  plan  to  be  followed,  and  also  to  the  spe- 
cific details  of  the  same.  While  in  the  general  plan 
much  will  depend  on  the  location  of  the  steading,  that 
is  of  the  buildings,  and  also  on  the  aspect  of  the  land, 
the  aim  should  be  to  place  them  as  nearly  as  possible 
at  the  centre  of  the  farm  in  order  to  avoid  unnecessary 
travelling  while  doing  the  work  of  the  farm. 

In  general  outline,  the  plan  for  the  windbreak  and 
grove  should  be  so  made  that  the  trees  will  protect 
the  buildings  on  the  three  most  exposed  sides,  thus 
forming  three  sides  of  a  rectangle.  Another  way  would 
be  to  have  the  trees  surround  the  buildings  in  the  form 
of  a  circle,  one  part  of  the  circle  being  without  trees  on 
the  leeward  side.  Some  are  content  with  planting  trees 
on  two  sides  of  the  steading,  thus  forming  the  two  sides 
of  a  right  angle  on  the  two  sides  that  are  most  exposed. 
Care  should  be  taken  not  to  plant  the  trees  too  close 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  375 

to  the  buildings,  as  they  may  interfere  with  future  plans 
about  the  buildings,  and  in  areas  where  snow  is  much 
liable  to  drift  it  will  pile  up  on  the  buildings  and  in 
the  yards,  having  been  carried  right  over  the  trees,  espe- 
cially in  the  early  stages  of  their  growth. 

The  trees  best  suited  for  a  windbreak  should  be 
planted  on  the  outside,  with  one  to  two  or  three  rods 
between  them  and  the  trees  of  the  grove,  as  the  snow 
that  lifts  over  the  windbreak  will  then  fall  in  a  consider- 
able degree  before  it  reaches  the  trees  of  the  grove. 
In  some  instances  it  is  advisable  to  have  two  rows  of 
windbreak,  trees,  with,  say,  two  rods  between.  In  these 
spaces  grasses,  clovers,  or  alfalfa  may  be  grown,  but 
not  too  close  to  the  •  trees,  the  snow  that  blows  into 
them  furnishing  a  goodly  supply  of  moisture. 

Some  fruits  may  be  planted  along  the  rows  and  in 
between  the  trees,  with  the  understanding  that  later 
they  will  be  removed,  as  the  shade  of  the  trees  will 
soon  make  this  necessary.  Plums  and  some  small  fruits 
may  be  thus  grown.  The  abiding  place,  however,  for 
the  fruits,  is  inside  of  the  grove.  Though  planted  simul- 
taneously with  the  grove,  protection  will  soon  be  fur- 
nished by  the  windbreak  and  forest  trees  in  their  upward 
growtji. 

If  trees  for  protection  and  for  orchard  uses  are  to 
be  planted  on  breaking,  the  ground  should  be  broken 
deeply  one  year  in  advance  of  the  planting.  It  should 
be  carefully  worked  on  the  summer-fallow  plan.  The 
objects  sought  are,  first,  the  subduing  of  the  sod,  and, 
second,  securing  a  supply  of  moisture  for  the  subsoil. 
If  the  ground  has  been  cropped  previously,  it  should 
by  all  means  be  summer-fallowed  before  it  is  planted. 
At  the  end  of,  say,  three  years  from  the  time  of  plant- 
ing, trees  planted  thus  will  be  quite  ahead  of  those 
planted  out  for  four  years,  but  on  land  not  thus  pre- 
pared at  the  outset. 


376  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

In  dry  areas,  trees  and  fruits  should  be  planted  out 
in  the  spring.  They  may  live  though  planted  in  the 
autumn,  but  in  such  areas  the  winter  is  a  more  critical 
season  for  trees  than  the  summer,  hence  they  should  be 
given  the  benefit  of  the  most  favorable  season  in  which 
to  make  a  start.  The  aim  should  be,  except  in  the  case  of 
some  evergreens,  to  plant  as  early  in  the  season  as 
the  ground  can  be  worked  in  good  condition. 

The  aim  should  be  to  secure  the  trees  and  fruits 
from  nurseries  where  the  trees  and  fruits  have  been 
grown  under  climatic  conditions  not  differing  greatly 
from  those  that  prevail  where  they  are  to  be  planted. 
This  is  greatly  important,  as  if  brought  from  a  milder 
climate  they  will  not  be  possessed  of  sufficient  hardihood 
to  produce  the  best  results. 

Planting  and  caring  for  trees. — Windbreaks  may  be 
planted  by  opening  a  straight  furrow  where  the  willow- 
cuttings  are  to  go.  In  this  furrow  they  are  placed  about 
3  feet  apart,  taking  care  to  start  them  at  something  of 
an  angle,  the  tops  all  leaning  in  the  same  direction  and 
along  the  line  of  the  furrow.  The  cuttings  should  be 
fresh  and  not  more  than,  say,  12  inches  long,  and  about 
the  thickness  of  the  finger.  About  2  inches  should  pro- 
ject above  the  surface  after  the  earth  has  been  firmly 
filled  in  around  the  cuttings. 

Evergreen  windbreaks  involve  more  labor  and  out- 
lay. The  trees  should  be  purchased  when  young.  The 
nurseryman  should  pack  them  with  much  care.  As 
soon  as  unpacked  for  planting,  the  roots  should  be  kept 
submerged  in  what  may  be  termed  a  solution  of  soft 
mud  until  each  is  to  be  taken  for  planting.  The  ground 
is  first  marked  off  where  the  trees  are  to  be  set.  When 
marking  it  the  continuity  of  the  squares  should  be  bro- 
ken in  each  alternate  row,  which  will  make  a  more  per- 
fect windbreak,  but  it  will  confine  the  cultivation  to  but 
one  direction.  They  should  have  8  feet  between  the 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  377 


rows,  and  a  similar  distance  between  the  same  in  the 
line  of  the  row.  The  roots  are  carefully  spread  on  moist 
earth  at  a  proper  depth,  and  the  hole  is  then  filled  and 
the  earth  firmed  while  being  filled  to  within  2  or  3  inches 
of  the  surface.  The  top  soil  should  be  left  loose  to  form 
a  dry  mulch  and  should  slant  a  little  downward  toward 
the  tree,  which  should  be  set  about  2  inches  lower  than 
it  was  previously.  In  very  dry  areas  the  aim  should  be 


DRY  LAND  SIX  YEAR     WAGNER  APPLE  TREES. 

Near  Bonner's  Ferry,  Idaho. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

at  the  first  to  provide  windbreaks  that  will  grow  more 
quickly  than  evergreens. 

When  securing  a  windbreak  from  box-elder  the  pro- 
cedure is  about  as  follows:  Secure  the  seed  before  the 
time  of  frost  in  the  autumn.  When  the  danger  to  the 
young  plants  from  frost  is  over,  draw  a  straight  furrow 


378  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

but  not  deeply,  with  the  plow,  scatter  the  seed  along 
this  by  hand  and  cover  to  the  depth  of  2  inches  with  the 
hoe.  The  furrow  may  be  made  with  the  hoe  and  beside 
a  stretched  line  if  desired.  The  harrow  should  be  used 
more  than  once  until  the  young  trees  are  an  inch  or 
two  high,  and  then  cultivation  should  follow  as  in  the 
case  of  corn.  Practically  no  other  pruning  is  needed 
than  to  cut  the  young  trees  back  a  .little  at  the  end  of 
the  first  year. 

The  trees  for  the  grove  should  be  planted  in  rows, 
and,  of  course,  inside  the  windbreak.  The  rows  should 
be  not  closer  probably  than  10  feet,  and  the  distance 
between  the  trees  in  the  line  of  the  row  will  vary  with 
the  conditions.  If  a  quick-growing  tree,  as  the  Norway 
poplar,  is  planted  between  slow-growing  trees,  as  the 
ash,  it  should  be  done  with  the  intention  of  removing 
the  quick-growing  tree  in  due  time,  and  allowing  the 
more  durable  one  to  remain.  The  distance  between  each 
in  the  line  of  the  row  may  be,  say,  5  feet.  But  the  dis- 
tance both  ways  will  vary  with  the  normal  precipitation 
and  the  combinations  when  planting.  The  number  of 
the  rows  should  be  determined  by  the  time  that  may  be 
given  to  caring  for  them.  Ample  protection  and  shade 
are  of  great  price  in  a  dry  country.  The  planting  may 
be  done  in  about  the  same  manner  as  described  above 
for  evergreens.  Trees  not  to  exceed  the  age  of  two 
years  should  be  preferred  for  planting. 

The  white  willow  may  be  grown  for  posts  as  for 
windbreaks,  and  when  cut  will  grow  again.  When  grow- 
ing the  diamond  willow,  proceed  about  as  follows: 
Mark  off  the  land,  say,  in  squares,  and  plant  the  cuttings 
in  these  squares.  They  will  make  posts  more  quickly  if 
trimmed  to  one  limb,  but  in  some  instances  2  to  3  are 
left.  The  cultivation  given  may  be  made  in  both  direc- 
tions. One  acre  planted  thus  should  furnish  from  3,000 
to  4,000  posts. 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  379 

For  areas  south  from  the  parallel  43,  the  black 
locust  and  some  of  the  hardy  catalpas  will  probably  best 
supply  the  need  when  posts  are  to  be  home  grown.  In 
moist  areas  they  are  planted  about  4  feet  each  way, 
but  in  dry  areas  it  would  seem  safer  to  leave  them  more 
distant,  say  in  squares  5  feet  each  way.  Both  are  rela- 
tively quick-growing  trees,  and  both  will  grow  up  again 
when  cut.  The  posts  from  both  are  durable. 

The  Caragana  and  Russian  wild  olive  hedges  may 
be  made  by  sowing  the  seeds  or  by  planting  young  trees 
obtained  from  the  nursery.  These  may  be  planted  2 
to  3  feet  apart,  and  may  be  made  to  grow  close  and 
stocky  by  severe  pruning.  Ornamental  hedges  may  be 
grown  from  almost  any  of  the  willows  when  properly 
pruned. 

The  surface  cultivation  given  to  all  of  these  trees 
for  whatsoever  purpose  given  should  be  enough  to  keep 
a  clean  dust  mulch  continuously  on  the  soil  until  the 
trees  are  large  enough  to  mulch  the  ground  with  their 
leaves.  This  will  entail  cultivation  for  several  years, 
according  to  the  kind  of  trees  and  the  growth  made  by 
them.  It  is  vain  to  expect  trees  to  grow  in  dry  areas  if 
neglected  after  they  are  planted.  The  growth  of  grass 
in  their  midst  will  rob  them  of  the  moisture  that  they 
need.  . 

Planting  and  caring  for  fruits. — When  planting  large 
fruits  in  dry  areas  they  should  be  given  ample  room. 
The  necessity  for  this  does  not  arise  so  much  from 
the  large  size  of  the  tree  as  from  the  need  for  ample  root 
space  in  which  to  gather  moisture.  The  fruit  trees  in 
semi-arid  regions,  like  the  grains,  are  more  or  less  dwarf- 
ish in  their  habit  of  growth.  But  in  addition  to  the  root 
space  required,  there  must  be  room  to  drive  between 
the  rows  when  cultivating  and  gathering  the  fruit.  The 
apple  trees  in  the  orchard  of  E.  R.  Parsons,  at  Parkers, 
Col.,  are  40  feet  apart,  which  is  a  greater  distance  than 


380  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

is  followed,  as  a  rule,  when  planting  the  apple  trees  of 
the  East,  which  grow  so  much  larger.  Where  the  rain- 
fall is  more  than  15  inches  per  year  the  trees  may  be 
planted  closer,  as  close,  probably,  as  30  feet.  For  a 
time,  crops  that  call  for  cultivation  during  the  period  of 
growth  may  be  grown  between  the  trees,  but  these 
should  not  come  near  to  the  tree,  lest  they  draw  upon 
the  moisture  that  it  should  have. 

Medium  fruits,  as  plums,  prunes  and  cherries,  may 
be  planted  in  squares  20  feet  apart.  This  will  give  ample 
room  for  proper  cultivation  and  gathering  the  fruit.  The 
practise  is  sometimes  followed  of  planting  these  inter- 
mediate fruits  midway  between  the  apple  trees  in  the 
line  of  the  row,  when  the  latter  are  planted  far  apart. 
Where  irrigating  water  can  be  applied,  the  practise  has 
merit,  as  the  trees  thus  planted  intermediate  may  be  re- 
moved when  they  begin  to  encroach  on  the  needs  of  the 
larger  trees,  but  they  should  not  be  planted  thus  in 
areas  of  scant  rainfall  without  good  reasons  for  the 
step.  Under  such  conditions  every  facility  should  be 
given  for  the  proper  cultivating  of  the  trees  by  driving 
in  several  directions. 

Small  fruits,  as  currants  and  gooseberries,  when 
grown  in  such  areas,  should  b,e  not  less  than  8  to  10  feet 
apart  each  way.  This  will  insure  room  to  give  them  the 
cultivation  which  they  need.  They  are  one  of  the  surest 
fruit  crops  that  can  be  grown  in  dry  areas.  Strawberries 
may  have  from  6  to  8  feet  between  the  rows.  If  grown 
on  the  matted  row  plan  the  runners  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  root  indiscriminately,  as  the  plants  will  then 
become  too  numerous  for  the  moisture. 

Of  the  large  and  intermediate  fruits  only  young 
trees  should  be  planted,  not  older  probably  than  one  to 
two  years.  This  reduces  the  percentage  of  the  trees 
that  may  fail  to  grow,  and  it  gives  the  grower  the  op- 
portunity to  head  them  low,  which  is  of  great  advantage 


GROWING  TREES  AND  FRUITS  IN  DRY  AREAS  381 


when  picking  the  fruit,  and  the  hazard  to  it  is  less  from 
the  blowing  of  strong  winds. 

The  cultivation  must  be  enough  to  keep  the  ground 
clean,  to  keep  a  dust  mulch  on  it,  and  to  break  up  any 
undercrust  that  may  form.  This  work  may  be  done  al- 
most entirely  with  the  harrow  and  disc.  Owing  to  the 
enormous  fruitage  of  trees  in  the  West,  due  attention 
must  be  given  to  the  thinning  of  the  fruit,  if  high  quality 


DRY  LAND  SQUASH,  YELLOWSTONE  COUNTY,  MONTANA. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

is  to  be  maintained.  This  is  especially  important  where 
the  moisture  is  not  plentiful.  In  some  localities  fertiliza- 
tion may  be  called  for  to  maintain  heavy  and  successful 
cropping,  because  of  the  great  drain  on  the  elements  of 
the  soil.  Due  attention  must  also  be  given  to  pruning 
and  spraying  the  orchards,  but  these  and  other  details 
must  be  omitted  from  this  discussion  for  want  of  space. 


382  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Whether  vegetables  should  or  should  not  be  grown 
in  orchards  and  between  small  fruits  will  depend  entirely 
on  the  conditions  present.  When  fruits  are  first  planted 
out  it  would  not  appear  to  be  necessary  or  advantageous 
to  leave  all  the  ground  unoccupied.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  must  not  be  grown  to  the  extent  of  drawing  upon 
the  moisture  that  the  trees  or  shrubs  should  have. 

As  elsewhere  intimated  (see  p.  453),  a  reserve  supply 
of  water  may  render  great  service  to  the  small  garden 
in  the  perfecting  of  such  fruits  and  vegetables  as  do 
not  mature  early  in  the  season.  One  application  may 
be  enough  in  many  instances  to  mature  the  crop.  In 
the  case  of  orchards  where  irrigating  waters  are  chiefly 
used  for  the  irrigation  of  alfalfa  and  kindred  crops,  it  is 
quite  practicable  in  some  instances  to  apply  the  surplus 
waters  to  the  orchard  after  the  fruit  has  been  removed. 
Enough  water  may  be  thus  stored  in  the  soil  and  sub- 
soil to  insure  a  crop  the  next  year,  where  otherwise  it 
would  not  succeed  without  the  provision  thus  made 
through  the  storage  of  needed  moisture. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS 

Rotation  means  an  interchange  in  the  succession 
of  the  crops  grown  with  a  view  to  the  better  main- 
tenance and  improvement  of  the  soil  with  reference  to 
chemical  and  physical  conditions. 

The  nature  of  the  interchange  will  depend  more  or 
less  on  the  kinds  of  the  crops  that  it  is  desired  to  grow, 
and  on  the  adaptation  of  the  natural  conditions  for 
growing  them.  Any  interchange  in  the  succession  con- 
stitutes rotation  in  a  sense,  but  such  interchange  does 
not  of  necessity  result  in  either  the  maintenance  or  im- 
provement of  the  conditions  that  govern  production. 
Rotation  in  non-leguminous  cereals  only  may  tend  to 
some  extent  to  lessen  weed  production,  but  it  does  not 
in  any  way  increase  the  plant  food  in  the  land.  When 
cultivated  crops  are  grown  in  interchange  with  this 
class  of  cereals,  the  cleaning  of  the  land  is  much  facilitat- 
ed, but  the  depletion  of  the  plant  food  goes  on  unless 
one  or  more  of  the  crops  grown  is  a  legume.  Increase 
in  production  is  best  secured  in  the  absence  of  the  use 
of  commercial  fertilizers  when  the  rotation  is  of  a  char- 
acter that  will  improve  the  tilth  of  the  soil  and  its 
moisture-holding  power,  and  will  also  increase  the  in- 
crement of  plant  food  in  it.  To  secure  all  of  these  bene- 
fits calls  for  the  introduction  of  a  grass  or  clover  crop 
into  the  rotation,  preferably  the  latter,  which  in  itself 
meets  all  the  requisites  sought  as  stated  above. 

Positive  reasons  for  rotations  in  humid  areas. — It  is 
necessary  in  these  for  the  following  reasons,  among 
others,  that  may  be  given:  To  maintain  an  equilibrium, 
(1)  in  plant  food;  (2)  in  the  humus  supply;  (3)  in  the 
mechanical  condition  of  the  soil,  and  (4)  in  the  food 
products  grown. 


384  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

When  one  crop  is  grown  for  successive  years  on  the 
same  land  in  the  absence  of  commercial  fertilizers,  the 
plant  food  in  the  soil  gets  out  of  balance.  The  crop 
grown  will  draw  more  heavily  on  one  element  of  plant 
food  than  on  another,  consequently  the  supply  of  that 
element  becomes  too  much  reduced  for  profitable  pro- 
duction. The  result  will  not  be  changed  though  the 
other  elements  of  plant  food  in  the  soil  are  present  in 
sufficient  quantity.  For  instance,  should  successive 
wheat  crops  reduce  the  nitrogen  in  the  soil  below  a 
given  quantity,  full  crops  of  wheat  will  not  be  obtained, 
though  the  supply  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  should 
still  be  ample.  To  maintain  the  equilibrium  it  becomes 
necessary  to  add  nitrogen.  This  can  be  most  cheaply 
and  effectively  done  by  introducing  a  legume  into  the 
rotation,  as  clover  or  alfalfa.  These  crops  may  also  be 
made  to  add  to  the  supply  of  phosphoric  acid  and  potash 
in  the  cultivated  portion  of  the  soil,  when  they  are  fed 
to  animals  and  the  manure  is  applied  to  the  land  that 
grew  them,  but  such  increase  is  at  the  expense  of  these 
products  in  the  subsoil. 

When  cereals  or  cultivated  crops  only  are  grown 
on  land  the  supply  of  the  humus  gradually  decreases. 
Such  decrease  results  in  the  loss  of  that  mechanical  con- 
dition which  is  most  favorable  to  production.  Such  loss 
of  condition  may  take  various  forms.  Heavy  soils  be- 
come more  and  more  impacted,  insomuch  that  they  are 
not  easily  plowed.  When  dry  they  become  cloddy  and 
call  for  the  exercise  of  much  labor  to  pulverize  them 
when  preparing  a  seed  bed.  On  the  other  hand,  light 
lands  become  lighter  to  the  extent  frequently  of  lifting 
with  the  winds.  These  conditions  are  the  immediate  out- 
come of  too  great  a  reduction  in  the  humus  supply,  and 
the  best  remedy  is  to  introduce  into  the  rotation  a  grass 
or  clover  crop,  the  roots  and  stubbles  of  which  will 
supply  the  need. 


ROTATION   IN  DRY  AREAS  385 

The  humus  thus  introduced  prevents  heavy  clays 
with  their  fine  soil  components  from  adhering  too  closely, 
consequently  they  are  much  more  easily  tilled.  They 
are  more  completely  aerated,  and  because  of  their  more 
friable  condition  the  roots  of  plants  can  penetrate  them 
more  readily.  Plants  that  furnish  humus  tend  to  bind 
together  the  particles  in  soils  so  light  as  to  drift,  by  the 
many  rootlets  that  they  furnish.  In  this  way  they  aid 
in  preventing  soil  lifting.  Humus  furnishes  food  in 
some  instances  at  least  in  a  readily  available  form,  as 
when  the  vegetable  matter  that  furnishes  it  is  in  process 
of  decay.  But  one  of  the  most  important,  if  not  the  most 
important  benefits  resulting  from  it  is  the  influence 
which  it  exerts  on  moisture  in  the  soil.  It  tends  to 
absorb  and  hold  moisture,  whether  in  its  upward  or 
downward  movement,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the 
crops  that  are  growing. 

Where  rotation  is  not  practised,  the  labor  called 
for  is  too  much  congested  at  certain  seasons,  and  at 
other  seasons  it  is  too  little  congested.  The  preparation 
of  the  land  for  sowing,  to  be  in  season,  must  be  done 
within  a  limited  time.  The  same  is  true  of  the  seeding 
and  harvesting  of  the  crop,  subsequently.  Because  of 
this  the  outlay  for  labor  is  larger  than  would  otherwise 
be  necessary  in  order  to  get  the  work  done.  The  diffi- 
culty of  getting  the  work  done  properly  and  in  season 
would  also  be  greatly  increased.  In  proportion  as  it  is 
done  not  in  good  form  and  out  of  season,  the  hazard 
of  low  yields  would  be  present.  Farming  is  usually  safe 
and  profitable  in  proportion  as  the  farmer  is  able  to  do 
his  own  work  within  his  own  household,  or  at  least  when 
the  necessity  for  hiring  much  labor  is  not  present. 

Negative  reasons  for  rotation  in  humid  areas. — Rota- 
tion is  called  for  in  humid  areas:  (1)  to  prevent  the 
undue  accumulation  of  weeds ;  (2)  to  prevent  the  undue 
increase  of  insect  pests ;  (3)  to  prevent  an  increase  of 


386  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

fungous  diseases,  and  (4)  to  prevent  the  shifting  of 
soils  by  water  and  winds.  Other  reasons  may  be  added 
to  these  but  not  of  equal  importance. 

Where  but  one  crop  is  grown  through  successive  years, 
there  is  an  increase  in  the  growth  of  many  kinds  of 
weeds,  especially  those  which  mature  their  seeds  before 
this  can  be  prevented  by  any  of  the  ordinary  processes 
followed  in  the  cultivation  of  the  land.  Especially  an- 
nuals and  perennials  may  be  thus  allowed  to  multiply 
until  their  number  becomes  a  menace  to  the  growth  of 
any  kind  of  crop  that  may  be  sown.  Summer-fallowing 
the  land  every  few  years  may  bring  some  relief,  but  in 
earch  instance  where  it  is  practised  no  crop  is  reaped 
that  year  from  the  land.  An  interchange  in  the  suc- 
cession of  cereals  may  bring  a  small  measure  of  relief, 
since  some  of  these  occupy  the  land  at  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent season  from  others.  The  most  effective  remedy 
for  such  weed  intrusion  is  a  rotation  that  includes  cul- 
tivated crops,  grass  crops,  and  in  some  instances  an 
occasional  summer-fallow.  The  cultivated  crops  are  to 
be  relied  on  chiefly  for  cleaning  the  land.  The  grass 
crops,  especially  if  of  long  duration,  as  in  the  case  of  al- 
falfa, favor  the  decay  of  weed  seeds  of  many  kinds  in  the 
soil,  and  the  summer-fallow  aids  effectively  in  destroy- 
ing perennials  that  might  not  otherwise  yield  to  less 
heroic  methods  of  eradication. 

Insect  life  peculiar  to  certain  crops  cannot  be  easily 
mastered,  in  some  instances  at  least,  without  an  inter- 
change of  crops.  Such  interchange  leads  to  their  de- 
struction by  starving  them  through  cutting  off  their 
food  supply.  The  Hessian  fly,  for  instance,  which  preys 
chiefly  on  winter  wheat,  may  be  banished,  if  not  ex- 
terminated in  the  locality,  by  dropping  that  crop  out 
of  the  rotation  for  a  time.  Chinch  bugs,  which  prey 
ravenously  on  spring  wheat,  may  be  kept  at  bay,  at  least 
in  a  considerable  degree,  by  ceasing  to  grow  spring 


ROTATION   IN  DRY  AREAS  387 

wheat  for  a  time,  and  by  substituting  for  it  certain 
crops  that  call  for  cultivation.  Variations  in  the  crops 
grown  in  rotations  tend  to  variations  in  the  time  and 
methods  of  the  cultivative  processes,  and  these  in  turn 
have  a  most  disturbing  influence  on  insect  life,  both  in 
the  embryo  and  subsequently. 

Rotation  exercises  a  far  reaching  influence  on  the 
reduction  of  the  hazard  incurred  by  the  presence  of 
certain  fungous  diseases.  In  the  northwestern  states, 
as  shown  by  Bolley,  the  continued  growth  of  wheat  on 
the  same  land  for  many  years  has  led  to  the  extensive 
prevalence  of  a  fungous  disease  which  preys  upon  the 
roots.  The  remedy  proposed  is  an  interchange  in  the 
crops  grown.  When  flax  wilt  reaches  a  certain  soil,  in 
order  to  remove  it  flax  should  not  be  grown  on  the 
soil  for  a  term  of  years.  Likewise  when  potato  scab 
is  introduced  into  land,  it  can  only  be  removed  by  re- 
fraining from  growing  potatoes  on  the  same  for  at  least 
a  limited  term  of  years.  What  is  best,  therefore,  for 
keeping  fungous  diseases  at  bay,  is  best  also,  as  has 
been  shown,  for  maintaining  a  proper  equilibrium  in  the 


The  shifting  of  soils  by  water  and  winds  is  in  some 
instances  very  serious.  The  removal  of  soil  by  water  is 
facilitated  by  fineness  in  the  soil  particles,  by  the  ab- 
sence of  humus  in  the  soil,  by  shallowness  in  the  cul- 
tivated area,  and  by  the  violence  and  quantity  of  the 
rainfall.  The  soils  in  the  semi-arid  belt,  especially  such 
as  are  flocculated  in  character,  shift  the  most  readily 
because  of  fineness,  especially  when  visited  by  torrential 
downpours.  Next  to  these  probably  are  loam  soils  light 
in  texture.  Humus  in  the  soil,  especially  in  the  form  of 
vegetation  not  yet  decayed,  as  previously  shown,  binds 
soils.  The  binding  power  of  vegetation  is  most  strikingly 
illustrated  in  the  presence  of  such  grasses  as  Russian 
brome  (Bromus  inermis).  Shallowness  in  the  cultiva- 


388  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

tion  may  be  remedied  by  man,  and  also  the  lack  of  hu- 
mus, but.  the  original  texture  of  the  soil  and  torrential 
rains  cannot  be  controlled  by  the  character  of  the  rota- 
tion. 

The  shifting  of  the  soils  by  winds  is  much  influenced 
by  the  nature  of  the  soil,  by  the  character  of  the  cultiva- 
tion and  by*  the  extent  to  which  high  winds  prevail. 
Light  sandy  soils,  in  which  the  particles  are  fine,  shift 
most  readily  with  the  winds.  After  these  are  the  light 
spongy  loams  of  the  prairie.  Clay  soils  are  much  re- 
sistant to  such  lifting.  Soils  that  are  much  liable  to 
shifting  should  not  be  given  more  cultivation  than  will 
absolutely  suffice  to  produce  a  given  result.  Where  high 
winds  prevail  in  the  spring  while  crops  are  being  planted, 
the  soil  is  frequently  removed  in  areas  with  soils  that 
lift  to  the  extent  of  leaving  the  seed  entirely  bare. 
The  best  remedy  is  a  rotation  that  keeps  vegetation  of 
some  kind  growing  on  these  to  the  greatest  extent  prac- 
ticable, and  of  a  character  that  will  add  to  the  vegetable 
matter  in  the  soil  by  the  root  growth. 

Incidental  benefits  from  rotation. — Among  the  inci- 
dental benefits  which  rotation  brings  are  the  following: 
(1)  reducing  the  hazard  from  crop  failure;  (2)  the  more 
complete  character  of  the  maintenance  for  the  house- 
hold; (3)  a  wider  diversity  in  the  production  of  live 
stock,  and  (4)  a  salutary  influence  on  markets  and  mar- 
keting. 

Rotations  may  be  broadly  classed  as  wide  and  nar- 
row. They  are  wide  when  they  embrace  a  wide  diversity 
in  production,  and  narrow  when  they  embrace  but  few 
lines  of  production.  The  wider  the  rotation,  that  is,  the 
larger  the  number  of  the  products  grown  within  a  cer- 
tain limit,  the  less  is  the  hazard  from  crop  failure.  Of 
course,  it  would  be  possible  to  make  diversity  so  wide 
that  the  concentration  of  the  energies  would  be  diffused 
to  the  extent  of  putting  the  stamp  of  low  attainment  on 


ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS      .  389 

all  efforts,  but  this  mistake  is  of  less  frequent  occur- 
rence than  the  opposite.  When  but  one  crop  is  grown, 
the  stake  for  the  year  is  all  centered  in  that  crop.  Should 
failure  be  complete,  the  stake  is  lost.  Should  it  be 
partial,  the  farmer  is  proportionately  crippled.  The  more 
the  diversity  in  the  grain  production,  the  more  safe,  is 
the  farming,  and  if  the  production  is  extended  to  live 
stock  the  farming  is  still  safer.  Such  widening  of  the 
rotation  is  not  inconsistent  with  centering  the  effort 
mainly  on  the  production  of  one  leading  staple.  The 
story  of  the  one-crop  system  indefinitely  continued  is 
the  same  in  the  main  in  all  the  states.  If  continued 
long  enough  it  ends  in  disaster. 

The  maintenance  furnished  to  the  home  from  a 
wide  rotation  is  very  much  more  complete  than  from 
a  narrow  one.  It  makes  it  easily  possible  for  the  farmer 
to  grow  nearly  all  the  food  products  which  he  needs, 
thus  reducing  proportionately  the  outlay.  The  influence 
on  the  accumulation  is  thus  very  marked.  The  person 
who  centers  all  on  the  production  of  one  crop  or  but  a 
few  crops,  incurs  large  outlay  for  the  support  of  his 
table.  His  profits  are  by  that  much  reduced. 

A  wide  diversity  in  crop  production  makes  possible 
a  wider  diversity  in  the  production  of  live  stock,  as  it 
furnishes  the  food  called  for  by  each  class.  The  farming 
is  thus  made  doubly  sure,  as  a  season  that  may  be  un- 
favorable to  the  production  of  marketable  cereals  may 
be  favorable  to  the  growth  of  fodders  which  may  be 
turned  to  good  account  by  live  stock  when  fed  to  them. 
The  farmer  who  thus  diversifies  is  certainly  pursuing 
the  safest  line  of  farming.  Let  the  season  be  what  it 
may,  he  is  sure  to  get  returns  from  some  line  or  lines  of 
his  work. 

With  increasing  wideness  in  production  comes  in- 
creasing stability  in  the  markets.  This  may  not  apply 
so  much  to  a  product  of  world-wide  use  and  of  easy 


390  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

transportation  as  to  one  more  limited  in  use  and  of 
costly  transportation,  because  of  its  bulkiness.  It  may 
not  be  easy  to  glut  the  wheat  market,  but  the  potato 
market,  for  instance,  may  be  glutted  in  a  single  season. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  market  for  certain  kinds  of  per- 
ishable fruits.  When  all  the  people  center  on  the  pro- 
duction of  one  commodity,  the  tendency  in  the  outcome 
is  to  disturb  the  market  and  adversely  to  the  interests 
of  the  farmer.  The  equilibrium  in  marketing  is  also 
disturbed. 

Additional  reasons  for  rotation  in  dry  areas. — In  dry 
areas  the  reasons  for  rotating  the  crops  in  addition  to 
those  given  include  the  following:  (1)  to  prevent  the 
loss  of  moisture  that  does  not  enter  the  soil ;  (2)  to  pre- 
vent the  loss  of  moisture  in  the  soil ;  (3)  to  increase  the 
moisture  content  in  the  same,  and  (4)  to  make  farming 
possible  and  profitable. 

In  such  areas  it  is  greatly  important,  as  previously 
shown,  that  the  precipitation  which  comes,  whether  in 
the  form  of  snow  or  rain,  shall  in  due  time  enter  the  soil 
rather  than  run  away  over .  the  surface.  The  various 
methods  which  may  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  accomplish 
this  have  already  been  discussed  (see  p.  123).  The  great 
importance  of  preventing  waste  from  this  source  is 
emphasized  at  this  time.  All  the  operations  relating  to 
tillage  should,  therefore,  be  conducted  with  this  thought 
in  mind.  In  humid  areas  it  is  different.  In  these  there 
are  times  when  the  removal  of  the  waters  of  precipita- 
tion is  more  important  than  their  retention,  as,  for  in- 
stance, when  they  are  present  in  excess,  but  even  when 
thus  present  removal  through  drainage  beneath  the  sur- 
face is  much  preferable  to  removal  through  open  drains. 
Rotation  facilitates  the  entrance  of  water  into  the  soil 
in  dry  areas  by  the  necessity  which  exists  for  intro- 
ducing into  it  frequently  crops  that  call  for  frequent 
stirring  of  the  surface  soil,  and  an  occasional  deep  stir- 


ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  391 

ring  of  the  same,  that  the  water  that  falls  may  enter  it 
readily,  even  though  it  should  fall  in  large  volume. 
Grass  crops  are  the  least  favorable  to  the  entrance  of 
water  into  the  soil  from  above.  Alfalfa  is  in  some  de- 
gree an  exception,  because  of  the  discing  that  is  given 
to  the  crop  in  the  springtime. 

The  character  of  the  rotation  exerts  a  very  marked 
influence  on  the  retention  of  moisture  in  the  soil  that  is 
already  present  in  the  same.  When  the  small  cereals 
follow  each  other  in  close  succession  they  not  only  draw 
proportionately  on  the  soil  moisture  to  perfect  their 
growth,  but  there  is  no  means  of  preventing  the  sub- 
soil moisture  from  escaping  into  the  air  subsequent 
to  the  cessation  of  the  use  of  the  harrow  on  the  crop. 
The  more  frequently  that  a  fallow  or  a  cultivated  crop, 
therefore,  can  be  introduced  into  the  rotation,  the  more 
perfectly  will  the  moisture  be  conserved  in  the  soil.  Be- 
cause of  the  increase  in  the  power  in  the  soil  to  hold 
moisture  as  a  result  of  putting  humus  into  it,  the  intro- 
duction of  humus  occasionally  in  some  form  should  never 
be  lost  sight  of.  The  ability  of  the  soil,  therefore,  to 
hold  moisture  in  these  areas  will  be  proportionate:  (1) 
to  the  infrequency  with  which  the  cereal  crops  are 
grown ;  (2)  to  the  frequency  with  which  cultivated  crops 
are  grown,  and  (3)  to  the  increase  in  the  humus  content 
in  the  soil. 

These  agencies  will  also  have  an  influence  on  the 
increase  or  decrease  of  the  moisture  content  in  the  soil. 
The  summer-fallow  is  probably  the  most  potent  agency 
that  can  be  introduced  in  the  line  of  cultivation  to  in- 
crease the  moisture  content  of  the  soil.  The  increase 
which  it  may  thus  exert  may  be  in  itself  a  sufficient  rea- 
son for  introducing  the  summer-fallow.  Next  in  potency 
in  this  respect  is  probably  deep  plowing  and  subsoiling. 
The  alfalfa  crop  calls  for  such  deep  plowing  when  pre- 
paring the  seed  bed  for  it,  and  when  the  ground  is  broken 


392  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

up  on  which  it  grew,  the  percolation  following  in  the 
line  of  the  decayed  roots  adds  to  the  moisture  content 
of  the  soil.  A  rotation,  therefore,  that  will  bring  about 
such  a  result  should  be  the  aim.  The  more  that  it  calls 
for  the  judicious  stirring  of  the  surface  soil,  the  more 
is  the  moisture  likely  to  be  increased  in  the  soil. 

In  dry  areas,  rotation  of  some  kind  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  make  farming  profitable.  Under  all  condi- 
tions this  may  not  be  absolutely  necessary  in  humid 
areas.  In  these  the  farmer  may  begin  with  virgin  soil. 
He  may  grow  successive  crops  of  the  same  kind  on  the 
same,  for  a  term  of  years,  at  a  profit.  The  duration  of 
such  profitable  production  will  depend  on  the  original 
fertility  of  the  land  and  on  the  skill  or  lack  of  skill 
which  he  shows  in  taking  fertility  out  quickly  or  slowly 
by  the  large  or  small  crops  which  he  grows.  It  is  dif- 
ferent with  the  farmer  in  the  semi-arid  region.  He  must 
have  regard  also  to  the  moisture  content  in  the  soil. 
Without  some  kind  of  a  rotation  he  cannot  adequately 
retain  moisture  enough  to  enable  him  to  grow  crops.  At 
the  very  outset,  therefore,  he  must  have  some  regard  to 
rotation. 

Rotation  by  alternating  fallow  and  grain. — The  dis- 
cussion of  this  question  will  ask:  (1)  how  such  rota- 
tion is  conducted ;  (2)  the  benefit  emanating  therefrom ; 
(3)  the  area  for  the  same,  and  (4)  the  objections  that 
may  be  offered  to  it. 

This  rotation  grows  grain  each  alternate  year,  and 
summet-fallows  the  land  in  each  of  the  years  that  inter- 
vene. Any  kind  of  cereal  may  be  thus  grown  which  it 
may  be  desired  to  grow.  Such  a  rotation  is  especially 
well  adapted  to  growing  winter  wheat,  since  it  virtually 
insures  the  germination  of  the  seed  even  in  a  dry  year 
and  at  the  season  when  the  crop  may  be  best  sown.  No 
other  kind  of  preparation  can  be  given  to  the  land  that 
will  so  well  secure  this  end.  A  cultivated  crop  should 


ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  393 

not  be  alternated  with  the  summer-fallow,  since  the 
moisture  that  has  been  stored  by  the  fallowing  process 
is  more  needed  by  the  cereal  crops  that  are  grown  in  the 
rotation.  A  crop  of  any  of  the  cereals  is  not  assured  in 
the  absence  of  stored  moisture,  whereas  a  cultivated  crop, 
as  corn,  is  much  more  certain  under  such  conditions. 

The  benefits  from  such  a  rotation  include  the  fol- 
lowing: (1)  It  makes  it  possible  to  grow  good  yielding 
grain  crops  in  areas  where  the  moisture  is  so  low  that 
these  could  not  be  obtained  in  any  other  way;  (2)  it 
makes  it  easily  possible  to  maintain  cleanliness  in  the 
land;  (3)  it  makes  it  possible  to  furnish  supplemental 
forage  where  it  could  not  otherwise  be  obtained.  In 
some  areas  the  precipitation  is  so  light  that  grain  crops 
could  not  be  grown  by  any  other  system  of  farming  that 
could  be  followed.  The  choice  in  these  is  between  no 
grain  crop  and  the  summer-fallow.  Where  this  rotation 
is  practised  land  may  be  kept  absolutely  clean.  True, 
grain  may  volunteer,  but  the  summer-fallow  makes  it 
possible  to  destroy  it  (see  p.  119).  In  some  areas  where 
the  seasons  are  very  short,  so  short  that  grain  may  not 
be  depended  on  to  ripen,  it  may  be  devoted  to  forage 
uses. 

This  rotation  may  be  necessary  in  many  portions 
of  the  dry  belt.  If  grain  is  to  be  grown  it  may  be  neces- 
sary where  the  rainfall  is  too  little  to  grow  a  crop  of 
grain  after  "a  cultivated  crop.  The  difference  in  the  de- 
gree of  the  precipitation  that  will  make  grain  succeed 
on  fallow  land  and. fail  when  sown  after  cultivated  land 
has  not  been  well  worked  out,  but  such  a  difference  does 
doubtless  exist.  As  expressed  in  inches,  however,  the 
difference  may  not  be  very  great.  Where  the  precipita- 
tion is  less  than,  say,  8  inches  on  the  average,  the  sum- 
mer-fallow would  seem  to  be  a  necessity  where  crops  of 
any  kind  of  grain  are  to  be  grown.  This  rotation  is 
practised  where  the  rainfall  is  considerably  greater  than 


394  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

has  been  stated,  even  where  it  is  as  high  as  15  inches 
and  more  per  year.  It  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  how- 
ever, to  adhere  to  such  a  rotation  as  a  rule,  in  order  to 
grow  good  grain  crops  with  a  rainfall  above  10  inches, 
providing  the  climatic  conditions  will  admit  of  growing 
cultivated  crops. 

The  objections  that  may  be  urged  against  this  rota- 
tion are:  (1)  that  it  reduces  the  fertility  of  the  land;  (2) 
that  it  leads  to  the  depletion  of  the  humus  supply,  and 
(3)  that  it  encourages  blowing  in  light  soils.  That  it 
does  lower  the  supply  of  plant  food  in  the  soil  cannot  be 
questioned.  It  lowers  it  by  the  amount  that  is  taken 
out  by  the  crop  grown,  for  this  system  gives  nothing 
back  in  return.  That  it  lowers  the  amount  of  available 
fertility  would  also  seem  true,  for,  as  the  gross  amount 
of  fertility  in  the  soil  becomes  reduced,  it  would  seem 
reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  relative  amount  re- 
leased would  become  less  and  less  from  year  to  year. 
The  store  of  plant  food,  however,  in  some  of  those  west- 
ern soils  is  so  great  that  in  some  instances  they  have 
produced  crops  thus  covering  a  period  of  not  less  than 
40  years,  without  any  diminution  in  the  yields.  Because 
of  this  some  farmers  have  concluded  that  so  it  will  be 
always,  but  the  end  will  inevitably  be  reached.  The 
day  will  come  when  the  yields  will  wane. 

What  has  been  said  about  waning  fertility  will  apply 
equally  to  the  depletion  in  humus.  It  will  probably  apply 
even  in  a  greater  degree,  since  the  supply  of  humus  in 
these  soils  was  less  "bountiful  at  the  first  than  the  supply 
of.  plant  food.  This  system  only  puts  back  the  humus 
furnished  by  the  stubbles,  and  it  consumes  humus  rapid- 
ly while  the  fallowing  is  being  done.  With  decrease  in 
humus  comes  proportionate  decrease  in  the  moisture- 
holding  power  of  the  soil,  and  this  in  semi-arid  regions 
will  in  time  work  serious  harm. 


ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  395 

This  system  facilitates  the  blowing  of  soils  where 
they  are  so  light  as  to  lift  with  the  winds,  because  of 
the  loose  condition  in  which  they  keep  them  on  the  sur- 
face, for  so  large  a  part  of  the  season.  Owing  to  the 
fine  condition  in  which  the  particles  are  kept  they  are 
carried  away  more  readily  by  torrential  rains,  should 
they  come.  It  is  so  far  fortunate,  however,  that  the 
average  far  western  soil  does  not  lift  so  readily  with 
the  wind  as  the  soils  that  cover  areas  of  the  prairie  that 
lie  farther  eastward. 

Rotation  by  alternating  cultivated  crops  and  grain. — 
This  method  of  growing  crops  substitutes  a  cultivated 
crop  for  the  summer-fallow.  It  will  be  observed  that  it 
does  not  widen  the  rotation.  The  discussion  will  con- 
sider: (1)  how  such  a  rotation  is  conducted;  (2)  the 
benefits  resulting  therefrom ;  (3)  the  area  where  it  is  to 
be  practised  and  the  objections  to  such  a  rotation. 

"Any  kind  of  a  grain  crop  may  be  grown  in  this  rota- 
tion that  may  be  desired,  providing  it  can  be  produced 
under  the  climatic  conditions.  The  cultivated  crop  may 
be  of  any  character  that  will  involve  a  sufficiency  of  cul- 
tivation while  it  is  growing  to  result  in  the  retention  of 
soil  moisture  to  the  greatest  extent  practicable.  The 
crops  thus  grown  more  commonly  include  corn,  pota- 
toes, field  beans  and  field  roots.  Of  these  corn  will  be 
grown  to  a  greater  extent,  probably,  than  all  the  others 
combined,  a  result  which  arises,  first,  from  the  relatively 
small  amount  of  hand  labor  involved  in  growing  it,  from 
the  large  return  in  proportion  to  the  labor,  and  from  the 
fact  that  it  furnishes  food  for  live  stock  larger  in  quantity 
from  a  given  area  as  a  rule  than  can  be  obtained  from 
any  other  plant.  Of  course,  the  cultivated  crop  is  grown 
one  year  in  the  rotation  and  is  followed  by  the  grain 
crop  the  next  season. 

The  benefits  from  such  a  rotation  include,  first,  a 
return  from  the  land  every  year,  which,  under  normal 


396  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

conditions,  will  yield  some  profit  to  the  grower,  and, 
second,  the  furnishing  of  food  for  animals  that  may  be 
kept  upon  the  farm,  such  as  can  be  obtained  from  no 
other  source.  The  bare-fallow  alternating  with  grain 
can  only  give  one  crop  in  two  years,  whereas  by  this 
system,  as  intimated,  a  crop  is  obtained  every  year. 

The  area  where  this  system  of  cropping  may  be 
practised  covers  a  very  large  amount  of  the  semi-arid 
belt,  but  it  cannot  be  practised  everywhere,  because  of 
the  shortage  that  may  be  present  in  the  moisture.  This 
system  of  cropping  will  probably  conserve  moisture 
about  as  effectively  as  the  bare-fallow,  but  it  draws  more 
heavily  on  the  moisture  content  in  the  soil,  since  it 
draws  on  it  every  year,  where,  by  the  other  system,  it 
is  drawn  upon  only  once  in  two  years.  It  is  clear,  there- 
fore, that  more  moisture  will  be  used  when  the  alterna- 
tion in  the  cropping  includes  a  cultivated  crop.  •  But  how 
much  more  moisture  will  be  called  for  in  the  one  rota- 
tion as  compared  with  the  other,  has  not  been  worked 
out  as  yet.  It  would  seem  safe  to  say,  however,  that 
on  average  soils  such  a  rotation  could  be  conducted 
where  the  annual  rainfall  was  not  less  than,  say,  12  to 
15  inches. 

To  this  system  two  objections  may  be  urged.  First, 
it  draws  heavily  on  the  plant  food  and  humus  in  the  soil, 
and,  second,  it  draws  so  heavily  on  moisture  that  the 
grain  crops  grown  must  soon  suffer  from  a  shortage  in 
plant  food  and  also  in  moisture.  The  first  objection  is 
valid.  The  second  is  only  partially  so.  In  time  such  a 
rotation  would  deplete  the  plant  food  in  the  soil  to 
the  extent  of  reducing  crop  yields.  Whether  reduction 
would  follow  from  a  shortage  in  moisture  will  depend, 
first,  on  the  total  amount  of  the  precipitation,  and,  second, 
on  the  proportion  of  this  that  it  is  possible  to  conserve. 
A  crop  of  corn,  for  instance,  will  use  as  much  moisture 
in  many  instances  as  a  crop  of  wheat,  but  it  does  not 


ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  397 

follow  that  it  leaves  the  soil  as  much  lacking  in  moisture 
as  the  wheat  It  draws  more  of  the  moisture  used  in 
growing  it  from  a  deeper  area  than  wheat,  hence  it 
draws  less  heavily  on  moisture  near  the  surface.  Mois- 
ture is  also  conserved  when  growing  the  corn,  where- 
as it  is  not  so  conserved  when  growing  wheat.  Nothing 
can  be  done  further  to  conserve  it  after  the  last  harrow- 
ing has  been  given  to  the  wheat.  Moreover,  the  broad 
leaves  of  the  corn  furnish  shade  to  the  ground,  and  in 
doing  so  reduce  the  evaporation.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  corn  will  leave  much  more  moisture  in  the  soil  than 
small  grain,  as  experiment  has  shown,  but  it  will  be 
less  than  the  bare-fallow  by  the  amount  that  it  has 
taken  to  grow  it.  In  areas  where  humus  is  abundantly 
present  and  the  rainfall  is  fairly  liberal,  larger  yields  of 
grain  may  usually  be  expected  after  grain  than  after 
the  bare-fallow,  as  an  excess  of  straw  is  more  liable  to 
be  present  after  the  cultivated  crop.  Such  excess  in  the 
straw,  however,  is  less  liable  to  occur  on  the  soils  of  the 
far  west  than  on  the  prairies  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
dry  belt.  But  where  the  rainfall  is  not  quite  enough  to 
grow  a  crop  each  year  as  outlined,  one  crop  only  should 
be  sought  in  two  years. 

Rotation  which  combines  fallow  and  cultivated 
crops. — The  discussion  of  this  rotation  will  also  con- 
sider: (1)  how  it  is  conducted;  (2)  the  benefits  result- 
ing therefrom ;  (3)  the  area  where  it  is  to  be  sought,  and 
(4)  the  objections  thereto. 

The  fallow  and  cultivated  crop  in  each  instance  is 
followed  by  a  crop  of  small  grain,  and  these  crops  al- 
ternate. The  rotation,  therefore,  covers  four  years.  The 
order  in  'the  same  is  as  follows :  Summer-fallow,  small 
grain,  cultivated  'crop  and  small  grain.  This  rotation 
grows  three  crops  in  the  four  years.  Where  it  can 
be  adopted,  therefore,  it  is  more  profitable  than  the  rota- 
tion which  gives  but  one  crop  in  two  years.  It  is  easily 


398  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

feasible  to  so  divide  any  farm,  large  or  small,  that  the 
succession  involved  in  this  rotation  may  be  conducted 
on  it.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that  the  farm  has  in  it 
160  acres.  If  40  acres  are  set  aside  for  hay  or  pasture, 
120  acres  will  be  left  for  cropping.  If  the  120  acres  are 
divided  into  four  equal  parts,  the  rotation  may  be  intro- 
duced as  outlined.  In  this  rotation  60  acres  will  be 
cultivated  each  year  by  the  fallow  or  by  the  cultivated 
crop,  and  the  remaining  60  acres  will  be  devoted  to  the 
growing  of  cereal  crops.  On  one-half  of  the  cultivated 
area  a  crop  will  also  be  grown,  hence  but  one-fourth  of 
the  land  that  is  cultivated  from  year  to  year  will  be  idle. 

This  rotation  is  attended  with  the  following  benefits: 
(1)  it  keeps  the  land  in  a  clean  condition;  (2)  it  makes 
practicable  the  growing  of  fodder  on  the  farm,  as  corn  for 
instance ;  (3)  it  is  not  only  not  antagonistic  to  a  wider 
rotation,  but  is  helpful  to  the  same,  since  it  makes  pro- 
vision for  the  growing  of  hay  and  pasture,  and  to  any 
extent  that  may  be  desired,  as  the  rotation  is  practicable 
on  any  residue  of  the  land  left  after  the  hay  and  pasture 
land  is  set  aside,  providing  the  said  residue  is  divided 
into  four  parts. 

This  rotation  will  probably  be  extensively  adopted 
in  the  semi-arid  country,  since  it  favors  the  introduction 
of  live  stock  onto  the  farms.  It  cannot  be  successfully 
practised  on  so  small  an  amount  of  precipitation  as  will 
bring  a  crop  of  small  grain  once  in  two  years,  on  the 
summer-fallow  plan,  but  it  can  be  practised  on  a  rain- 
fall somewhat  less  than  will  suffice  to  grow  corn  or  the 
other  cultivated  crop  in  combination  with  small  grain 
each  alternate  year.  In  this  rotation,  where  winter  wheat 
may  be  successfully  grown,  it  should  be  made  to  come 
after  the  bare-fallow,  and  other  spring  crops  after  the 
cultivated  crop. 

The  objections  to  it  include  the  following:  (1)  it 
makes  no  provision  directly  for  putting  back  on  the  land 


ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  399 

plant  food  or  humus  removed  by  the  successive  crops 
that  are  grown;  (2)  it  involves  a  considerable  amount 
of  labor  in  cultivating  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  land 
each  year;  (3)  it  involves  the  fencing  of  at  least  that 
portion  of  the  land  devoted  to  the  growing  of  pasture. 
In  reply  to  these  objections  it  may  be  answered:  (1) 
that  the  system  can  be  easily  so  modified  as  to  bring 
fertility  and  humus  to  the  land.  This  can  be  accom- 
plished by  changing  at  intervals  the  portions  devoted  to 
the  growing  of  hay  and  pasture.  These  may  be  devoted 
to  the  crops  of  the  rotation,  and  hay  and  pasture  may 
be  grown  for  a  time  on  the  other  portion  of  the  land. 
The  ends  thus  sought  will  be  most  completely  realized 
when  the  hay  and  pasture  plants  are  of  the  leguminous 
order.  (3)  The  fencing  to  be  erected  cannot  be  avoided 
where  live  stock  are  to  be  kept  on  the  arable  farm,  what- 
soever may  be  the  rotation. 

Rotations  which  include  grass  crops. — As  in  the  pre- 
ceding rotations,  there  will  be  discussed  the  following 
under  this  sub-head:  (1)  how  these  may  be  conducted; 
(2)  the  benefits  from  so  conducting  them;  (3)  the  area 
for  the  same,  and  (4)  the  objections  to  these  methods. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  rotation  includes  one 
or  more  grass  crops,  of  course  including  the  clovers 
where  «they  may  be  grown  with  success  and  also  alfalfa. 
The  various  clover  crops  cannot  be  grown  at  their  best  in 
semi-arid  areas,  as  already  intimated,  hence  it  is  not 
probable  that  they  will  ever  be  given  an  important  place 
in  the  rotation  in  these  areas  unless  under  exceptionally 
favorable  conditions.  The  grass  rotation  plants  will  in- 
clude brome  grass,  western  rye,  and,  in  some  places  that 
are  exceptionally  favored  with  moisture,  timothy  and 
red  top.  It  is  almost  certain,  however,  that  alfalfa  will 
be  grown  to  a  greater  extent  as  the  grass  crop  of  the 
rotation  than  any  other  plant. 


400  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

It  is  not  possible  to  fix  definitely  the  order  of  such 
a  rotation  where  the  conditions  vary  so  much.  The 
grass  crop  may  be  added  to  each  of  the  rotations  given 
above,  but  in  none  of  them  will  it  fit  in  so  well  as  with 
the  rotation  that  combines  fallow  with  a  cultivated  crop. 
The  order  would  be  summer-fallow,  small  grain,  a  cul- 
tivated crop,  small  grain  and  the  grass  crop.  The  term 
of  years  that  the  land  should  thus  be  laid  down  to  grass 
or  alfalfa  will  vary  with  the  conditions.  It  is  preferably 
long  rather  than  short,  because  of  the  hazard  of  failure 
in  getting  a  stand  of  grasses  in  years  that  are  unusually 
dry.  When  the  grass  or  alfalfa  crop  is  broken  up,  the 
cropping  to  small  grains  in  alternation  with  cultivation 
may  be  prolonged  as  desired. 

The  benefits  from  such  a  rotation  are  unquestioned. 
It  insures  the  maintenance  of  a  supply  of  humus  which 
is  so  necessary  to  high  production,  more  especially  in  dry 
areas.  It  cannot  be  so  well  supplied  in  any  other  way. 
It  also  opens  up  the  way  for  the  maintenance  of  live 
stock  on  the  farm.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the 
grazing  in  dry  areas  will  be  SQ  much  as  in  those  that  are 
moist,  and  yet  a  certain  amount  of  pasture  land  is  neces- 
sary where  much  live  stock  is  kept.  When  alfalfa  is  the 
grass  crop  grown,  it  will  also  furnish  nitrogen  to  the 
soil  in  liberal  degree,  and  will  in  this  way  contribute 
beneficently  to  the  maintenance  of  fertility. 

The  area  for  such  a  rotation  will  virtually  embrace 
all  the  semi-arid  country,  but  the  necessity  for  it  will 
not  be  so  great  in  all  parts.  In  much  of  the  arid  region 
rugged  lands  are  contiguous  to  the  farm  lands.  These 
may  be  made  to  furnish  all  the  pasture  called  for.  Not- 
withstanding, the  necessity  for  hay  still  continues,  and  it 
cannot  be  better  supplied  than  by  growing  alfalfa  as  a 
rotation  crop.  This  means  that  this  crop  may  be  made 
not  only  to  furnish  hay,  but  that  it  may  also  be  made 


ROTATION  IN  DRY  AREAS  401 

to  furnish  humus  and  nitrogen  in  addition  in  all  parts 
of  the  dry  area. 

But  few  objections  can  be  offered  to  this  rotation. 
When  the  virgin  lands  of  the  prairie  are  first  broken  up 
the  grass  roots  are  present  in  the  soil  to  the  extent  of 
hindering  production.  The  hindrance  is  felt  in  the  slow 
decay  of  the  vegetable  matter.  This  means  that  in  a 
dry  year  less  production  will  be  obtained  from  such 
lands  than  from  the  same  when  the  original  grasses  have 
reached  a  more  advanced  stage  of  decay.  Because  of  this 
it  may  be  wise,  arid  usually  it  is  wise,  to  try  to  secure 
several  crops  of  small  grain  from  these  lands  before  they 
are  laid  down  to  grass  in  any  form.  The  objection  that 
introducing  grasses  involves  the  introduction  of  fencing, 
is  not  well  taken,  for  live  stock  cannot  be  so  well  kept  in 
the  arid  country,  or  indeed  in  any  country,  in  the  absence 
of  a  certain  amount  of  fencing. 

Rotation  that  should  not  be  followed. — The  discus- 
sion of  this  question  will  consider:  (1)  growing  small 
grains  in  succession;  (2)  growing  pastures  for  many 
successive  years ;  (3)  growing  alfalfa  for  many  succes- 
sive years,  and  (4)  growing  small  grains  in  any  rotation 
which  does  not  bring  them  after  a  cultivated  crop. 

The  mistake  of  growing  small  grains  in  succession 
in  dry  areas  should  be  avoided.  This  does  not  mean  that 
the  method  of  growing  them  thus  will  not  succeed  in 
some  instances,  as  when  the  precipitation  is  unusually 
large.  But  an  abnormally  large  precipitation  can  never 
be  forecasted.  The  Montana  Experiment  Station  has 
shown  conclusively  that  a  good  crop  is  never  assured 
under  such  conditions  of  growth,  and  that  a  limited  term 
of  years  of  such  cropping  will  result  in  the  production 
of  crops  that  are  not  worth  harvesting.  Adherence  to 
this  method  of  crop  production,  especially  along  the 
eastern  side  of  the  semi-arid  belt,  has  unquestionably 


402  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

involved  the  several  states  concerned  in  a  loss  of  several 
millions  of  dollars  annually. 

Many  farmers  are  apparently  imbued  with  the  idea 
that  it  is  impossible  to  secure  as  large  profits  from  one 
cereal  crop  grown  every  alternate  year  as  from  annual 
crops  of  the  same  grown  every  year.  Whether  this  can 
or  cannot  be  done  depends  entirely  on  the  yields.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  that  where  the  rainfall  is  not  more 
than  15  inches  annually  more  bushels  of  small  grain 
will  be  obtained  in  a  term  of  years  by  taking  one  crop 
from  the  soil  in  two  years  than  from  cropping  the  land 
every  year.  Though  the  yields  should  be  the  same  the 
profits  from  growing  the  one  crop  in  two  years  will  be 
greater  because  of  the  less  expense  involved  in  grow- 
ing it. 

Where  the  rainfall  is  more  than  15  inches  annually, 
and  less  than  20  inches,  it  may  be  legitimate  to  grow 
several  grain  crops  in  succession  on  land  when  broken 
from  the  virgin  prairie.  But  even  in  these  areas  the 
process  should  not  be  long  continued  because  of  the 
drain  that  such  a  system  involves  on  the  fertility  and 
also  on  the  humus  supply  in  the  land. 

While  pastures  should  as  a  rule  be  continued  for  a 
longer  period  than  two  years,  they  should  seldom  be 
made  permanent  in  dry  areas.  The  objections  to  such 
permanency  are:  (1)  the  necessity  that  exists  for  renew- 
ing the  humus  supply  in  the  land ;  (2)  the  difficulty  found 
in  maintaining  high  relative  production  in  such  pastures, 
and  (3)  the  tendency  in  such  a  system  to  lessen  the 
store  of  moisture  in  the  soil  and  especially  in  the  sub- 
soil. It  is  important,  therefore,  that  such  pastures  will 
not  be  grazed  for  too  long  a  term  of  years. 

On  arable  farms  the  aim  should  be  to  avoid  main- 
taining alfalfa  crops  during  a  long  term  of  years.  This 
does  not  follow  from  any  real  difficulty  in  maintaining 
maximum  production  in  the  alfalfa  crops,  but  rather 


ROTATION   IN  DRY  AREAS  403 

from  the  advantage  that  comes  to  the  grain  crops  that 
follow  the  alfalfa  through  the  supply  of  plant  food  and 
humus  which  it  brings  to  the  land.  To  this  rule,  how- 
ever, there  may  be  many  exceptions.  The  wisdom  of 
growing  small-grain  crops  as  a  rule  only  after  cultivated 
crops,  or  fallow,  has  been  amply  justified  by  experience. 
To  this,  however,  there  are  some  exceptions.  Flax,  as 
has  been  shown,  may  come  after  grass  with  reasonable 
certainty  in  the  results  when  properly  grown.  Should 
the  autumn  rains  be  heavy,  an  occurrence  that  may  hap- 
pen, although  it  is  rare  in  the  semi-arid  country,  in  some 
areas  but  not  in  all,  it  would  be  legitimate  to  follow 
small  grain  with  small  grain. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MAINTAINING     FERTILITY     AND     HUMUS     IN 
DRY  AREAS 

When  the  settler  locates  on  western  soils,  the 
thought  which  dominates  his  mind  and  directs  his  efforts 
is  how  to  get  marketable  crops  to  grow.  As  long  as  he 
is  able  to  accomplish  this  it  is  difficult  to  impress  him 
with  the  thought  that  the  time  will  surely  come  when 
such  a  system  of  cropping  will  lead  to  the  impoverish- 
ment of  the  land.  That  such  a  result  will  follow  if  crops 
are  taken  from  the  land  and  sold  in  successive  years  for 
an  indefinite  period  cannot  be  questioned.  The  land 
will  stand  such  cropping  for  a  much  longer  period  in 
dry  than  in  humid  areas,  because  of  the  greater  store 
of  plant  food  in  the  soil,  and  because  of  the  less  loss 
of  the  same  in  crop  production.  The  farmer,  therefore, 
in  dry  areas,  must  give  careful  attention  to  the  main- 
tenance of  fertility  in  the  soil,  if  he  is  to  maintain  maxi- 
mum production.  He  must  also  give  equally  careful  at- 
tention to  the  maintenance  of  the  humus  supply  in  the 
soil,  in  order  to  maintain  it  in  a  proper  physical  condi- 
tion, and  to  increase  its  moisture-holding  power.  The 
system  of  alternate  cropping  and  summer-fallowing  so 
commonly  advocated  is  decidedly  unfavorable  to  the 
maintenance  of  either  in  the  absence  of  the  renewal  of 
fertility  and  humus. 

In  the  present  discussion,  fertility,  of  course,  means 
plant  food,  and  especially  the  three  essential  elements 
of  plant  food.  No  time  will  be  spent  in  discussing  the 
question  as  to  what  fertility  in  the  abstract  means.  The 
author  who  claims  that  "fertility  is  not  something  that 
inheres  in  the  soil"  is  welcome  to  all  the  comfort  he  can 
get  out  of  so  stupid  a  definition.  Likewise  the  scientist 
who  claims  that  "fertility  is  what  the  soil  is  capable  of 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        405 

doing  under  the  best  possible  conditions"  is  welcome  to 
all  the  comfort  he  can  get  from  making  fertility  a  thing 
so  intangible.  If  the  elements  of  fertility — phosphate, 
potash  and  lime — are  not  a  part  of  the  soil,  what  are  they 
a  part  of?  Humus  in  the  discussion,  of  course,  means 
organic,  that  is,  vegetable  matter,  whatever  may  be  its 
stage  of  decay. 

The  soils  are  usually  fertile. — The  richness  of  the 
soils  in  dry  areas  in  all  the  essential  elements  of  plant 
food  is  owing  chiefly:  (1)  to  the  inherent  richness  of 
the  soil  particles;  (2)  to  the  similarity  of  the  subsoil  to 
the  soil  in  its  essential  constituents ;  (3)  to  the  little  loss 
of  fertility  by  leaching,  and  (4)  to  the  extent  to  which 
the  soil  has  been  moved  by  rodents. 

The  richness  of  the  soil  particles  is  owing  chiefly 
to  the  source  from  which  they  have  come  (see  p.  62). 
This  inherent  richness  applies  largely  to  food  that  is 
not  yet  available.  This  reserve  food  is  unlocked  grad- 
ually by  the  cultivation  given  and  through  other 
agencies,  hence  the  ability  of  these  soils  to  maintain  an 
undiminished  production  for  a  long  term  of  years. 

It  cannot  be  said,  of  course,  that  the  subsoil  is  in 
all  instances  similar  to  the  surface  soil,  but  in  many 
instances  it  is.  Because  of  this  the  beneficial  descent 
and  ascent  of  soil  moisture  is  facilitated,  the  feeding 
ground  for  the  roots  of  plants  is  relatively  enlarged  and 
the  removal  of  plant  food  to  the  surface  soil  from  below 
is  made  very  easy  and  sure.  This  explains  why  it  is 
possible  to  grow  grain  on  lands  for  long  periods  which 
increase  rather  than  decrease  in  their  producing  power. 

On  nearly  all  soils  in  dry  areas  the  loss  from  leaching 
is  so  small  that  it  is  not  to  be  considered.  The  excep- 
tions to  this  are  rare.  There  is,  therefore,  virtually  no 
loss  of  fertility  from  this  source,  which  is  a  never-end- 
ing source,  of  loss  in  humid  areas.  This  means  that 
inert  fertility  is  made  available  slowly  and  that  it  is 


406  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

not  removed  from  the  soil  save  as  it  is  taken  up  by  the 
crops  where  proper  methods  of  cultivation  are  followed. 
In  humid  areas,  the  loss  from  the  leaching  of  fertility 
down  through  the  soil  in  the  form  of  nitrates  is  present 
more  or  less  every  season.  This  loss  is  proportionate  to 
the  abundance  of  the  nitrates,  and  to  the  superabun- 
dance of  the  water  in  the  soil.  Some  fertility  may  be 
removed  through  the  washing  of  the  soil.  The  loss  from 
this  source  may  be  felt  more  or  less  on  soils  that  have 
much  slope,  providing  these  are  cultivated.  On  fairly 
level  lands  this  may  be  almost  entirely  prevented  by  a 
judicious  system  of  tillage  (see  p.  91). 

Rodents  have  doubtless  exercised  an  important  influ- 
ence on  the  increase  of  the  available  fertility  in  dry 
areas  by  the  extent  to  which  they  have  burrowed  into 
the  soil  and  carried  it  to  the  surface.  The  channels 
thus  made  in  the  process  of  burrowing  were  followed 
by  air  and  moisture  and  these  have  aided  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  soil.  The  combined  influence  of  sun  and  rain 
furthered  decay  in  the  soil  that  was  brought  to  the  sur- 
face. This  decay  was  favorable  to  the  growth  of  plants, 
which  in  turn  added  to  the  available  fertility.  This 
process  has  been  going  on  for  long  centuries,  hence 
the  influence  of  these  toilers  has  doubtless  been  material 
in  the  liberation  of  soil  fertility. 

The  loss  of  fertility. — Many  claim  that  the  supply 
of  fertility  in  dry  areas  will  never  be  lost.  This  view 
is  doubtless  based  on  the  observation  that  grain  crops 
have  been  grown  on  the  same  land  for  periods  of,  say,  25 
to  nearly  50  years  without  any  diminution  in  the  yields, 
and  in  the  absence  of  any  form  of  fertilization  other 
than  that  furnished  by  the  straw  of  the  grain  crop  or 
crops  that  were  grown  upon  the  land.  These  results 
have  been  obtained  in  Utah  and  also  in  some  other 
parts  of  the  semi-arid  belt.  This,  however,  only  demon- 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        407 

strates  that  the  supply  of  fertility  in  these  soils  is  very 
great  rather  than  that  it  is  inexhaustible. 

Every  non-leguminous  crop  grown  upon  the  soil 
and  sold  from  it  carries  away  from  the  soil  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  elements  of  fertility  essential  to  plant 
growth.  This  means'  that  the  residue  left  in  the  soil 
and  subsoil  is  reduced  by  the  amount  removed  in  the 
crop  grown.  It  follows,  therefore,  by  logical  sequence, 
that  in  time  the  elements  of  fertility  in  the  soil  will  be 
so  reduced  that  it  will  be  rendered  incapable  of  produc- 
ing a  profitable  return.  The  time  when  this  result  will 
be  reached  will  depend.,  first,  upon  the  crop  grown,  and, 
second,  upon  the  abundance  of  the  crop  yields.  The 
more  abundant  the  crop  yields,  the  more  rapid  will  be 
the  depletion  in  the  fertility.  It  has  been  found  that 
to  grow  a  bushel  of  wheat  and  the  straw  that  it  takes 
to  produce  it,  removes  1^4  pounds  of  nitrogen  from  the 
soil,  1  pound  of  phosphoric  acid  and  1  4-5  pounds  of  pot- 
ash. To  grow  a  20-bushel  crop  will  remove  twenty 
times  as  much  of  these  elements ;  hence,  if  both  straw 
and  grain  are  removed,  the  fertility  left  in  the  soil  is 
reduced  by  the  amounts  as  calculated.  Such  a  heavy 
drain  on  soil  fertility  in  the  absence  of  any  fertilization 
must  in  time  so  deplete  the  store  of  plant  food  in  any 
soil,  howsoever  rich  it  may  be  in  plant  food  originally, 
that  it  will  cease  to  grow  profitable  crops.  In  certain 
areas  in  California  where  grain  crops  were  profitably 
grown  for  a  generation,  during  recent  years  they  have 
fallen  below  the  limit  of  profitable  production  in  the 
absence  of  fertilization.  Even  though  production  by 
such  a  system  should  be  profitable  for  two  or  even  three 
generations,  the  day  of  reckoning  will  assuredly  come 
because  of  the  low  yields  obtained. 

The  loss  of  plant  food  is  less  rapid  in  dry  than  in 
humid  areas.  This  arises,  first,  from  the  smaller  growth 
of  straw  produced  by  semi-arid  soils;  second,  by  the 


408  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

almost  entire  absence  of  loss  by  leaching,  and,  third, 
because  when  moisture  is  absent  the  liberation  of  fer- 
tility practically  ceases.  In  humid  areas  the  fertility 
is  continually  drawn  upon  during  the  period  of  growth, 
if  not  in  growing  crops  in  growing  weeds.  In  dry  -areas 
growth  is  practically  at  a  standstill  during  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  growing  season.  The  less  rapid 
loss  of  plant  food  in  the  soil  in  such  dry  areas  is  strik- 
ingly shown  in  the  longer  period  during  which  the 
effects  of  farmyard  manure  are  traceable  when  applied 
to  the  soil.  In  many  instances  these  are  not  traceable 
in  humid  areas  beyond  three  years,  whereas  they  are 
traceable  in  dry  areas  for  at  least  twice  as  long. 

The  restoration  of  fertility  in  dry  areas  is  much 
more  difficult  than  in  humid  areas.  This  follows: 

(1)  From  the  relatively  small  growth  of  vegetable  mat- 
ters produced  for  burial  in  the  soil.     In  humid  areas, 
weed  growth  is  more  constant,  and  two  or  three  crops 
of  green  substance  may  be  grown   and  buried  in  one 
season.    Such  production  in  dry  areas  is  much  less.     (2) 
From  the  less  extent  to  which  legumes  may  be  grown 
on   a  given   piece   of  land.     These,   of  course,   are   the 
most   important    restorers   of   fertility.      (3)    From    the 
more  limited  supply  of  the  farm  fertilizers  that  are  on 
hand,   resulting   from   the   less   bulky   crop    production. 
(4)  From  the  slower  action  of  applied  commercial  fer- 
tilizers.    These   facts   should   be   carefully   weighed   by 
those  engaged   in   dry   farming. 

Sources  of  fertility. — The  sources  of  fertility  in  dry 
areas  include:  (1)  Food  furnished  directly  by  the  soil; 

(2)  food  carried  up  by  the  subsoil ;  (3)  food  liberated  by 
cultivation,   and    (4)    food   furnished   by  legumes.     No 
one  of  these  sources  is  unimportant. 

The  soil  is  beyond  all  comparison  one  of  the  most 
important  sources  of  plant  food.  The  larger  portion 
of  the  food  exists  in  the  soil  in  the  inert  form,  and  is 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        409 

slowly  unlocked  or  made  available  by  the  processes 
of  cultivation.  This  is  one  reason  why  judicious  culti- 
vation is  so  important  in  dry  areas.  The  difference  be- 
tween poor  soils  and  soils  that  are  rich,  is  mainly  a 
difference  in  the  food  elements  that  these  soils  contain 
and  chiefly  in  the  inert  form.  It  is  fortunate  that  these 
stores  are  made  available  chiefly  through  the  processes 
of  cultivation.  Were  it  otherwise,  there  would  be  a 
great  waste  of  fertility  before  it  could  be  utilized.  But 
there  are  certain  forms  of  bacteria  in  the  soil  that  have 
the  power  of  gathering  nitrogen  from  the  air,  and  con- 
verting it  into  forms  suitable  for  the  needs  of  plants. 
According  to  Widtsoe  these  bacteria  utilize  for  their 
life  processes  the  organic  matter  of  the  soil.  To  work 
effectively  they  require  a  soil  rich  in  lime,  fairly  dry  and 
warm  and  well  aerated.  Fortunately  these  conditions 
are  all  met  on  the  dry  farms  of  the  semi-arid  west. 

The  food  carried  up  from  the  subsoil  exercises  an 
important  influence  on  fertility  in  semi-arid  areas.  The 
soluble  materials  in  arid  areas  go  down  to  the  lower 
limit  of  moisture  penetration.  The  soil  and  subsoil  are 
thus  made  of  equal  porosity.  Because  of  the  facility 
with  which  air  may  penetrate  the  soil  and  subsoil  mass, 
the  subsoils  are  in  a  sense  weathered  and  made  suit- 
able for  furnishing  available  plant  nutrition  to  great 
depths.  In  some  instances  in  the  semi-arid  region,  the 
soil  and  subsoil  are  not  very  different  from  the  surface 
soil  down  to  the  distance  of  many  feet,  hence  in  these 
deep  plowing  does  not  bring  up  unweathered  soil  as  it 
does  in  dry  areas,  and  it  enlarges  at  the  same  time  the 
reservoir  for  storing  water.  It  has  been  claimed,  and 
probably  correctly,  that  the  relative  fertility  of  different 
areas  in  the  semi-arid  belt  depends  more  on  the  nature 
of  the  subsoil  than  of  the  surface  soil.  In  semi-arid 
regions  the  roots  of  plants  go  to  stored  water,  and  the 
latter  does  not  need  to  be  brought  to  the  surface. 


410  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  limit  of  root  penetration  in  the  crop,  therefore, 
is  an  important  factor  when  conducting  experiments  in 
dry  areas.  But  the  upward  movement  of  the  natural 
precipitation  in  the  soil  is  also  an  important  factor 
in  determining  its  producing  power.  The  plant  food 
dissolved  in  the  downward  movement  of  soil  moisture 

* 

is  again  carried  upward  to  the  domain  where  it  may  be 
utilized  by  growing  plants.  In  this  way  the  fertility  of 
the  surface  soil  is  continually  reinforced  by  plant  food 
carried  up  from  the  subsoil.  In  humid  areas  much  of 
the  food  thus  dissolved  and  carried  down  to  the  surface 
soil  goes  out  in  the  drainage  water. 

The  proper  cultivation  of  the  soil  tends  to  liberate 
plant  food  in  the  same.  The  frequency  with  which  the 
soil  is  stirred  in  the  summer-fallow  and  in  growing  a 
cultivated  crop  favors  such  liberation  of  fertility.  It 
greatly  facilitates  growth  in  the  crop  sown  on  such  land, 
but  this  influence  is  secondary  to  that  exerted  by  the 
moisture  conserved.  In  humid  areas  much  of  the  fer- 
tility thus  liberated  may  be  carried  down  and  out  into 
the  drainage  water,  but  in  dry  areas  this  very  seldom 
occurs. 

The  growing  of  legumes  is  one  of  the  most  effective 
methods  by  which  fertility  may  be  increased  in  dry 
soils.  The  supply  of  available  fertility  may  be  increased 
by  cultivation,  by  the  amount  carried  in  solution  through 
capillarity,  and  from  the  action  of  certain  bacteria  work- 
ing in  the  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  but  such  increase 
relates  almost  entirely  to  temporary  increase,  which 
means  a  reduction  of  the  total  amount  left  in  the  soil. 
The  increase  through  growing  legumes  is  a  positive 
addition  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  at  least  with  refer- 
ence to  its  nitrogen  content. 

How  to  increase  fertility. — Fertility  in  dry  areas 
may  be  increased:  (1)  by  growing  legumes;  (2)  by  ap- 
plying farm  manures,  and  (3)  by  applying  artificial  fer- 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        411 

tilizers.  Fertility  already  in  the  -soil  may  be  made 
available  by  various  processes. 

Soils  in  dry  areas  are  usually  rich  in  mineral  mat- 
ters, hence  they  do  not  meanwhile  call  for  additional 
supplies  of  phosphate  and  potash,  but  they  are  frequently 
deficient  in  nitrogen  and  humus.  These  may  be  best 
supplied  by  legumes  (see  chapter  XIII).  They  take  nitro- 
gen from  the  air  in  the  process  of  growth,  and  much  of 
what  has  been  stored  in  the  soil  feeds  the  crops  that 
follow,  at  least  for  a  time,  usually  for  2  or  3  years  in 
humid  climates,  and  frequently  it  may  be  for  a  longer 
term  in  dry  areas.  If  the  crops  are  not  buried  but  are 
harvested  and  fed  or  grazed  off,  such  enrichment  is 
without  cost  to  the  grower  of  these  crops.  Whether 
the  entire  crop  should  be  buried  will  depend  more  on 
the  extent  to  which  the  soil  needs  vegetable  matter  than 
on  the  extent  to  which  it  needs  fertilization.  Humus 
may  frequently  be  supplied  more  cheaply  by  non-legu- 
minous plants.  In  areas  where  the  header  is  used  in 
harvesting  wheat  grown  on  fallowed  land  in  alternate 
years,  the  humus  thus  supplied  does  not  cost  anything. 
Grazing  off  the  crop  grown,  especially  when  leguminous 
in  nature,  brings  enrichment  to  the  land  in  a  very  effect- 
ive form.  The  pea  crop  properly  grown  is  one  of  the 
best  for  such  a  use. 

Farmyard  manure  is  very  beneficial  to  arid  soils 
when  properly  applied,  but  "it  may  be  so  applied  as  to 
do  harm,  as  when,  for  instance,  large  quantities  are 
buried  in  the  soil  at  one  time.  When  dry  weather  fol- 
lows, such  a  soil  is  kept  too  open  and  will  not  suffi- 
ciently hold  moisture.  It  should,  therefore,  be  applied 
in  quantities  quite  moderate,  not  more  usually  than  ten 
tons  to  the  acre,  and  frequently  considerably  less  will 
be  better.  It  should  be  applied  when  practicable  with 
the  manure  spreader.  If  the  manure  is  disced  in  before 
the  land  is  plowed,  its  action  will  usually  be  quicker 


412  DRY  LAND  FARMING. 

than  when  not  so  managed.  Farm  manure  not  only 
brings  plant  food  to  the  soil,  but  it  increases  the  vege- 
table mold  in  the  same,  and  it  facilitates  the  liberation 
of  fertility  through  chemical  agency.  The  beneficial 
effects  of  manure  on  the  soil  and  crops  are  present  for 
a  much  longer  period  in  dry  than  in  humid  areas,  be- 
cause of  its  slower  decay  in  the  soil.  When  live  stock 
are  kept  in  any  considerable  number  on  dry  farms,  the 
maintenance  of  fertility  on  these  will  not  be  a  very 
serious  question. 

The  use  of  artificial  fertilizers  in  dry  areas  will  not 
assume  large  proportions  for  many  years  to  come,  and 
for  the  reason  that  the  expense  incurred  would  probably 
be  greater  than  the  benefit  accruing.  There  may  be 
instances  in  which  such  nitrogenous  fertilizers  as  .nitrate 
of  soda  may  be  applied  with  advantage  and  profit,  but 
usually  nitrogen  may  be  brought  to  the  soil  more  cheap- 
ly by  growing  legumes.  Phosphoric  acid  and  potash 
will  not  be  much  needed  for  many  years,  in  some  in- 
stances for  an  indefinite  period. 

In  various  ways  the  available  supply  of  fertility 
may  be  increased  without  adding  fertilizer  to  the  soil 
directly.  Among  these  are  the  following:  (1)  Cultivating 
the  soil  so  as  to  expose  it  more  effectively  to  those 
weathering  agencies  which  unlock  inert  plant  foods. 
These  include  sun,  air,  frost  and  rain.  (2)  Supplying 
the  soil  with  vegetable  matters  which  in  process  of 
decay  produce  various  acid  substances  which  act  upon 
the  soil  grains  so  as  to  set  free  more  or  less  of  the 
plant  food  which  they  contain.  Such  action  is  present 
in  degree  in  the  decay  of  all  kinds  of  plant  food  in  the 
soil,  whether  it  has  been  produced  above  or  below  the 
surface  of  the  same.  (3)  Keeping  the  soil  in  a  condi- 
tion so  that  water  will  move  through  it  freely.  Plant 
food  is  thus  dissolved  to  feed  the  plants,  and  though 
carried  downward  it  is  again  carried  in  dry  areas  to  the 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        413 

upper  soil,  that  is,  the  soil  which  may  be  regarded  as 
the  domain  of  root  growth. 

The  supply  of  humus  in  dry  areas. — The  supply  of 
humus  in  dry  areas  is  much  less  than  in  humid  areas. 
The  difference  in  the  relative  proportions  cannot  be 
stated,  as  the  humus  supply  does  not  increase  in  all 
instances  as  humidity  increases,  nor  is  the  supply  lim- 
ited in  proportion  to  the  dryness  of  the  climate.  The 
character  of  the  soil  exercises  a  potent  influence. 

The  supply  of  humus  in  dry  areas  is  low  because: 
(1)  The  proportion  of  the  sandy  soils  in  these  is  greater 
than  in  humid  areas.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the 
Inter-mountain  areas  of  the  west.  These  do  not  pro- 
duce a  strong  vegetation  in  the  absence  of  irrigating 
waters.  (2)  The  plants  are  bunched,  as  it  were,  in  their 
habit  of  growth,  hence  the  number  of  the  plants  on  a 
given  area  is  relatively  small.  In  dry  areas  a  tough, 
dense  sod  is  rarely  found,  though  of  common  occur- 
rence in  humid  areas.  The  proportion  of  organic  matter 
thus  produced  is  much  less  than  in  the  latter.  (3)  The 
growth  in  dry  areas  is  less  luxuriant  than  in  humid 
areas.  It  is  in  a  sense  dwarfish  in  its  nature.  The 
hay  or  straw  taken  from  a  piece  of  land  in  dry  areas 
is  relatively  small.  The  trees  show  the  same  character- 
istics. (4)  Much  of  the  growth  in  dry  areas  has  been 
burned  through  long  centuries,  and  this  has  greatly 
reduced  the  humus  supply  in  the  soil.  (5)  The  extent 
to  which  alkali  prevails  on  western  soils  has  interfered 
adversely  with  the  growth  of  vegetation,  in  many  in- 
stances to  its  entire  exclusion. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  apparent  that 
it  is  more  difficult  to  increase  humus  in  dry  than  in 
humid  areas.  In  the  latter,  when  soils  are  left  untilled 
for  a  time,  they  will  produce,  as  it  were,  spontaneously, 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  weeds.  Later  these  will  be  suc- 
ceeded by  native  grasses  which  will  dislodge  the  weeds, 


414  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

and  where  the  humidity  is  marked  trees  will  eventually 
take  possession  and  crowd  out  the  grasses.  In  arid 
areas  under  such  conditions  the  weed  growth  would  be 
much  less  strong.  The  possession  of  the  soil  by  grasses 
would  be  much  less  complete,  and  forest  trees  would 
not  grow  at  all.  In  humid  areas  germination  from 
good  seed  is  sure,  but  in  dry  areas  such  is  not  always 
true.  Even  though  crops  should  be  grown  specially 
to  increase  the  supply  of  humus,  dry  conditions  may 
prevail  to  such  an  extent  that  they  may  not  furnish  very 
much  vegetation. 

Fortunately  humus  is  not  lost  so  readily  in  dry 
areas  as  in  moist  areas  of  equal  temperature.  Organic 
matter  buried  in  the  soil  does  not  decay  in  the  absence 
of  moisture.  Should  a  heavy  coating  of  stubble  be 
buried  in  the  soil  in  dry  areas,  say  in  the  spring  season, 
and  a  crop  be  sown  on  the  land,  the  crop  will  fail  be- 
cause the  undecayed  stubble  cuts  off  the  moisture  sup- 
ply from  below.  Should  dry  weather  prevail  through 
the  entire  season,  the  stubble  will  be  turned  up  by  the 
plow  in  a  condititon  showing  but  little  decay,  whereas 
had  rain  fallen  copiously  the  stubble  would  have  been 
all  decayed.  This  explains  why  the  effects  of  farmyard 
manure  are  discernible  for  a  period  much  longer  than  in 
humid  areas.  This  fact  tends  much  to  even  up,  as  it 
were,  the  difference  resulting  from  the  different  quanti- 
ties of  humus  possessed  by  soils  in  dry  and  humid  areas 
respectively.  It  is  less  needed  in  dry  soils  to  keep  them 
in  mechanical  condition,  and  because  of  their  dryness. 
Moreover  it  is  claimed  that  humus  in  dry  areas  contains 
much  more  nitrogen  than  in  humid  areas.  But  because 
of  the  greatly  increased  power  which  humus  gives  to  the 
soil  to  hold  moisture  when  judiciously  supplied  to  it 
in  dry  areas,  the  aim  should  be  to  maintain  at  all  times 
an  adequate  supply  in  the  same. 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        415 

Sources  of  humus. — The  sources  of  humus  in  dry 
areas  includes:  (1)  organic  matter  that  decays  on  the 
surface  of  the  soil ;  (2)  the  roots  and  stubbles  of  plants ; 
(3)  green  crops  grown  and  buried,  and  (4)  farmyard 
manures. 

The  supply  of  organic  matter  from  the  decay  of 
plants  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  inconsiderable, 
for  the  reason,  first,  that  the  growth  of  these  is  rela- 
tively small,  and,  second,  that  what  is  produced  is  in 
a  great  measure  consumed  by  animals  when  grazing. 
This  was  true  to  a  very  considerable  degree,  even  before 
the  introduction  of  domesticated  animals.  The  com- 
paratively small  extent  to  which  vegetable  soils  occur 
in  dry  areas  in  thus  accounted  for. 

The  roots  and  stubbles  of  plants  are  one  of  the 
most  important  sources  of  humus  in  dry  areas.  The 
plants  grown  on  these  are  possessed  of  a  relatively 
long  and  deep  root  system.  The  roots  are  encouraged 
to  go  down  because  they  may  secure  moisture  thereby 
and  also  additional  food.  The  opposite  is  true  of  plants 
grown  under  irrigation.  The  proportional  weight  of 
the'  roots  of  plants  differs  greatly,  and  the  same  also 
holds  true  of  the  weight  that  the  roots  bear  to  the  stems 
and  leaves.  The  weight  of  the  roots  of  clover  is  about 
the  sani£  as  that  of  the  portion  grown  above  ground. 
The  weight  of  the  roots  of  alfalfa  is  probably  much 
greater  than  the  weight  of  any  single  crop  of  the  hay. 
The  roots  of  brome  grass  are  about  the  same  weight 
as  that  of  the  stems  and  leaves.  The  roots  of  oats 
are  about  40  per  cent,  of  the  stems  and  leaves,  whereas 
the  roots  of  peas  are  only  about  9  per  cent,  of  the  por- 
tion above  ground.  It  would  seem  correct  to  say  that 
no  plant  grown  in  dry  areas  will  equal  alfalfa  in  the 
quantity  of  the  organic  matter  which  it  brings  to  the 
soil  in  its  roots,  or  in  the  deep  distribution  of  the  same. 


416  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

The  stubbles  of  plants  likewise  differ  greatly  in  the 
amount  of  the  humus  which  they  bring  to  the  land. 
The  amount  thus  brought  is  proportional  to  the  density 
of  the  stubbles  and  to  the  length  of  the  same.  Because 
of  their  density  the  stubbles  of  grasses  rank  high  in 
furnishing  organic  matter.  Wheat,  when  headed  in  har- 
vesting the  crop,  may  also  be  assigned  a  high  place,  not 
because  of  its  density,  but  because  of  the  length  of  the 
stubble  that  is  thus  left  for  burial.  Peas  furnish  very 
little  stubble  when  the  crop  is  harvested  and  the  same 
is  true  of  vetches. 

In  the  future  much  attention  will  probably  be  given 
to  the  growth  of  plants  for  burial  in  dry  areas.  The 
quantity  thus  added  in  a  single  crop  will  enable  the 
farmer  to  furnish  organic  matter  to  the  soil  more  quick- 
ly than  it  can  be  furnished  in  any  other  way,  but  in 
many  instances  it  will  not  be  possible  to  get  any  return 
from  the  land  the  same  season  that  a  crop  is  buried  for 
such  a  use.  This  loss  may  be  avoided  in  some  instances 
by  burying  the  crop  in  conjunction  with  the  summer- 
fallow,  as  is  shown  in  the  division  that  follows. 
The  value  of  plants  for  such  burial  differs  greatly.  Le- 
gumes hold  first  rank  for  such  a  use,  because  of  the 
nitrogen  they  bring  to  the  soil,  and  because  of  their 
quick  decay.  Some  are  more  suitable  than  others, 
because  of  the  season  at  which  they  can  be  buried. 
Such  is  winter  rye  that  may  be  buried  early  in  the  sea- 
son. Others  have  the  recommendation  that  they  grow 
quickly.  Such  is  buckwheat. 

Some  time  in  the  future  farmyard  manures  will  be 
an  important  source  of  humus  in  dry  areas.  That,  how- 
ever, will  not  follow  for  many  years  to  come,  as  the 
farmers  will  center  their  efforts  on  growing*grain  crops 
for  sale  rather  than  on  growing  crops  for  feeding  uses. 
Manure  buried  in  the  soil  in  suitable  quantities  and  at 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        417 

the  proper  time  adds  greatly  to  the  productiveness  of 
soils  in  dry  areas. 

The  benefits  from  humus. — Prominent  among  the 
benefits  from  the  application  of  organic  matter  to  the 
soil  are:  (1)  that  it  improves  the  physical  structure  of 
soils;  (2)  that  it  adds  to  their  moisture-holding  power; 
(3)  that  it  furnishes  food  to  plants  in  a  readily  available 
form,  and  (4)  that  it  lessens  the  lifting  of  soil  by  winds. 

Organic  matter  improves  the  physical  texture  of 
soils  by  preventing  them  from  lying  too  compactly.  The 
evils  resulting  from  over-impaction  are:  (1)  the  bak- 
ing of  soils,  which  is  adverse  to  aeration  and  to  the 
entrance  of  rain  into  the  soil  when  it  falls;  (2)  adding 
greatly  to  the  labor  of  tillage,  and  (3)  it  is  proportion- 
ally adverse  to  successful  growth  in  the  crops.  When 
the  organic  matter  in  soils  is  practically  exhausted, 
which  is  certain  to  follow  long-continued  cropping  with 
small  grains,  soils  run  together  and  become  impacted  in 
many  instances.  There  is  virtually  no  organic  matter 
between  the  soil  particles  to  keep  them  asunder.  This 
adhesive  condition  prevents  the  rain  that  falls  in  the 
form  of  heavy  showers  from  entering  the  soil  as  it  other- 
wise would,  and  because  of  this  much  of  the  moisture 
that  falls  may  run  away  over  the  surface  and  be  lost 
to  the  soil.  That  the  soil  may  be  kept  in  such  physical 
condition  that  the  moisture  that  falls  shall  have  an  op- 
portunity to  enter  the  soil  to  the  greatest  extent  possible 
is  greatly  important  in  dry  areas,  and  indeed  in  all 
areas.  The  baking  of  the  soil  proportionally  excludes 
air,  and  as  it  does,  it  proportionally  lessens  the  activity 
of  bacterial  life,  thus  reducing  the  beneficent  influences 
that  flow  therefrom.  The  difference  in  the  labor  in- 
volved in  plowing  a  soil  in  a  baked  condition  as  com- 
pared with  the  same  in  the  unbaked  form,  will  be  read- 
ily apparent,  and  the  increased  labor  involved  in  the 
pulverization  of  the  same  will  be  relatively  greater  than 


418  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

the  labor  involved  in  plowing  it.  When  the  soil  gets 
thus  impacted  successful  growth  therefrom  is  simply 
impossible. 

Organic  matter  judiciously  applied  to  the  soil  adds 
greatly  to  its  moisture-holding  power.  It  is  applied 
judiciously  when  it  is  added  in  quantities  that  will  not, 
because  of  their  excess,  keep  them  lying  too  loose  and 
open,  and  when  it  is  buried  in  a  condition  that  will  facil- 
itate quick  decay  as  far  as  this  may  be  possible.  When 
excessive  in  quantity,  impaction  is  so  little  present,  that 
the  air  removes  too  much  moisture  from  the  soil.  It 
does  not  lie  sufficiently  close  to  the  seeds  when  they 
are  planted  to  promote  vigorous  germination,  and  the 
roots  of  the  plants  cannot  feed  properly  because  of  lack 
of  moisture.  It  is  easily  possible  in  a  dry  season  to  pro- 
duce failure  in  a  crop  that  would  otherwise  prove  suc- 
cessful through  the  injudicious  application  of  organic 
matter.  This  means  that  when  manures  are  buried  in 
the  soil  they  should  be  applied  only  in  moderate  quan- 
tity at  one  time,  and  that  when  a  green  crop  is  buried 
it  should  be  so  buried  before  it  reaches  too  advanced  a 
stage  of  maturity,  otherwise  it  will  decay  too  slowly. 

Organic  matter  in  its  decay  adds  much  to  the  mois- 
ture-holding power  in  the  soil.  It  does  so  by  absorbing 
water  that  is  going  downward  in  the  soil  and  holding  it 
much  as  it  is  taken  up  and  held  by  a  sponge.  Of  course 
it  will  not  hold  it  for  an  indefinite  period  in  the  absence 
of  rain,  but  it  will  in  very  many  instances  hold  it  suffi- 
ciently long  to  enable  it  to  be  taken  up  by  the  roots  of 
plants  which  penetrate  the  soil  much  more  readily  be- 
cause of  the  presence  of  organic  matter.  It  has  been 
claimed  that  in  dry  areas  the  presence  of  a  sufficient 
supply  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil  in  a  suitable  stage 
of  decay  will  increase  its  moisture-holding  power  by 
fully  50  per  cent. 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        419 

But  the  opposite  result  will  follow  when  it  lies  in  the 
soil  without  decaying,  as  it  does  sometimes  when  buried 
in  the  form  of  stubble,  of  dry  grass  on  sod  land  or  of 
strawy  manure.  Because  of  such  burial  and  the  adverse 
results  that  have  followed,  the  prejudice  has  arisen  which 
prevails  to  a  very  considerable  extent  in  dry  areas  against 
the  application  of  farm  manures.  If  straw  must  be  bur- 
ied, as  when  strong  stubbles  are  plowed  under,  the  aim 
should  be  to  disc  the  soil  before  it  is  plowed,  that  the 
stubbles  may  be  mixed  with  the  soil  before  they  are 
buried,  and  then  to  pack  the  soil  where  it  will  stand 
such  packing  after  it  is  plowed.  The  direct  burial  of 
heavy  stubble  by  covering  it  in  a  shallow  furrow,  in  the 
eastern  portions  of  the  semi-arid  area,  where  heavy 
stubble  is  frequently  produced,  has  led  to  the  ruin  of 
many  a  grain  crop.  The  stubble  thus  lying  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  furrow  has  prevented  the  ascent  of  soil  mois- 
ture and  also  the  downward  penetration  of  the  roots. 
Why,  then,  does  the  plan  of  burying  the  straw  of  grain 
that  has  been  headed  meet  with  so  much  favor?  Because 
(1)  its  deep  burial  is  usually  followed  by  the  bare-fallow, 
which  gives  it  time  to  decay ;  (2)  because  in  its  decay  it 
encourages  all  the  processes  of  bacterial  life  which  are  so 
helpful  to  crop  production ;  (3)  because  of  the  plant  food 
which  it  furnishes  in  its  decay,  much  of  which  is  brought 
up  from  the  subsoil  while  the  crop  that  produced  the 
straw  has  been  in  process  of  growth,  and  (4)  it  makes 
the  soil  more  porous  and  therefore  more  easily  and  ef- 
fectively worked  for  the  prevention  of  evaporation.  The 
burning  of  stubble,  like  the  burning  of  straw,  is  a  most 
baneful  process. 

Organic  matter  in  the  soil  furnishes  food  to  plants 
in  a  readily  available  form.  The  plants  that  are  buried 
have  gathered  food  from, the  soil  through  the  wide  dis- 
tribution of  their  roots,  and  by  processes  that  have  been 
slow  in  their  action.  When  the  organic  matter  thus 


420  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

produced  is  buried  in  the  soil,  as  in  the  form  of  green 
crops,  this  substance  in  its  decay  readily  furnishes  food 
for  the  crops  that  follow,  providing  the  decay  of  the 
green  crops  thus  grown  is  sufficiently  rapid.  Thus  it  is 
that  crops  that  are  less  valuable  are  made  to  gather  food 
for  crops  that  are  of  greater  value  relatively. 

The  burial  of  organic  matter  in  'the  soil  materially 
lessens  the  tendency  to  the  shifting  of  soils  through  the 
action  of  the  wind.  In  sandy  loam  soils,  and  to  a  greater 
extent  in  sandy  soils,  the  shifting  of  soils  through  the 
action  of  strong  winds  that  are  much  liable  to  prevail 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  is  becoming  a  serious 
handicap  to  the  farmer  in  the  prosecution  of  his  work. 
Where  this  occurs,  the  more  labor  that  is  put  upon  the 
seed  bed  by  discing  and  harrowing,  the  more  will  be  the 
loss  through  the  drifting  of  the  soil.  In  some  instances 
the  seed  is  laid  bare,  and  the  soil  that  covers  it  is  car- 
ried to  other  areas.  A  plentiful  supply  of  organic  mat- 
ter in  the  soil,  whether  in  the  form  of  plant  roots  in  the 
soil  or  of  stubbles  incorporated  in  the  surface  soil  in 
the  process  of  discing  the  same,  will  tend  very  much  to 
lessen  the  shifting  of  soil  through  the  action  of  the  wind. 

How  to  increase  humus. — Since  the  presence  of  hu- 
mus in  soils  in  dry  areas  produces  results  so  beneficial,  it 
is  greatly  important  that  the  supply  of  the  same  shall 
be  abundantly  present.  How  to  maintain  such  a  supply 
is  certainly  a  question  of  much  moment.  The  following 
are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  it  may  be  applied:  (1) 
by  growing  and  burying  non-leguminous  plants;  (2)  by 
growing  alfalfa;  (3)  by  growing  and  burying  the  Cana- 
dian field  pea ;  (4)  by  growing  and  burying  the  cow  pea ; 
(5)  by  growing  and  burying  the  sand  vetch,  and  (6)  by 
growing  and  burying  sweet  clover. 

Any  of  the  non-leguminous  plants  may  be  grown 
for  such  burial.  Some  of  these,  however,  are  so  valuable 
for  other  uses,  as  wheat,  for  instance,  that  it  would  not 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        421 

seem  profitable  to  grow  them  for  such  a  use.  Promi- 
nent among  the  non-leguminous  crops  that  are  grown 
for  burial  are  winter  rye,  buckwheat  and  Dwarf  Essex 
rape.  Winter  rye  has  peculiar  adaptation  for  such 
growth,  since  it  can  be  sown  in  the  autumn  and  buried 
in  the  late  spring  without  losing  a  crop  the  season  that 
it  has  been  buried.  It  may  be  drilled  in  amid  the  stub- 
bles and  without  discing  them  in  the  autumn.  It  may 
be  buried  in  the  spring  in  time  to  follow  with  a  crop  of 
corn  or  to  summer-fallow  the  land  as  may  be  desired. 
Buckwheat  and  rape  may  be  grown  for  such  a  use  on 
summer-fallowed  land.  When  thus  grown  the  late  sea- 
son at  which  the  crop  is  buried  may  to  some  extent 
prove  adverse  to  the  retention  of  soil  moisture,  but  this 
will  be  probably  more  than  offset  by  the  benefits  that 
will  result  from  the  burial  of  one  or  the  other  of  these 
crops.  Winter  rye  should  be  buried  usually  not  later 
than  the  earing  stage,  buckwheat  at  the  stage  of  full 
bloom,  and  rape  when  it  has  reached  maximum  growth. 

Alfalfa  furnishes  large  supplies  of  organic  matter 
in  the  decay  of  its  roots  when  the  crop  is  broken  by 
the  plow.  The  roots  not  only  increase  the  plant  food 
content  in  the  soil  and  subsoil,  but  they  add  greatly  to 
the  moisture-holding  power  of  the  soil  by  the  absorbing 
power  of  the  roots  in  their  decay,  and  also  by  the  many 
small  channels  which  they  open  up  in  the  subsoil  for 
the  downward  passage  of  ground  water.  So  beneficial 
is  the  mission  of  alfalfa  in  this  respect,  that  in  dry  areas 
it  may  be  wise  to  grow  it  in  somewhat  short,  rather  than 
in  long,  rotations,  so  that  the  benefits  resulting  from 
the  humus  which  it  supplies  may  be  accelerated  and 
increased. 

The  Canadian  field  pea  is  a  most  excellent  humus- 
supplying  plant  when  buried  in  the  soil,  but  to  the  burial 
of  a  crop  of  peas  there  is  the  same  objection  that  applies 
to  the  burial  of  a  crop  of  alfalfa,  viz.,  that  the  pea  crop, 


422  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

like  the  alfalfa  crop,  is  too  valuable  for  such  burial. 
There  is  the  further  objection  that  the  price  paid  for  the 
seed  of  peas  makes  such  feeding  costly.  But  when  peas 
are  thus  buried  the  available  nitrogen  thus  brought  to 
the  land  is  very  considerable  and  much  of  it  has  been 
obtained  from  the  air. 

The  results  from  growing  and  burying  the  cow  pea 
are  quite  as  significant  as  the  results  from  growing  the 
Canadian  field  pea,  but  the  domain  for  the  cow  pea  is, 
of  course,  in  latitudes  that  would  be  too  warm  for  grow- 
ing the  Canadian  field  pea  at  its  best.  The  objection  also 
applies  to  the  cow  pea,  that  its  food  value  is  such  as  to 
preclude  the  advisability  of  growing  it  for  burial,  saVe 
in  certain  instances  that  are  more  or  less  exceptional 
in  character. 

The  area  in  which  the  sand  vetch  will  grow  with 
sufficient  success  to  justify  growing  it  in  the  dry  area 
has  not  been  sufficiently  determined  as  yet.  If  it  should 
prove  true  that  the  sand  vetch  may  be  sown  with  a 
spring  crop  without  detriment  to  the  same,  and  that 
it  will  grow  on  subsequently  and  furnish  a  large  amount 
of  organic  matter  for  burial  the  following  season,  then 
it  will  follow  that  the  mission  of  the  sand  vetch  in  fur- 
nishing humus  in  dry  areas  will  be  one  of  much  sig- 
nificance, as  (1)  it  would  start  in  its  growth  without 
detriment  to  other  crops;  (2)  it  would  furnish  humus 
for  burial  without  necessitating  the  loss  of  a  crop,  which 
would  be  true  of  it  even  when  buried  on  land  that  is  to 
be  summer-fallowed,  for  such  land  would  not  in  any 
case  furnish  a  crop  that  season,  and  (3)  it  would  fur- 
nish nitrogen  from  the  air  in  plentiful  supply. 

The  place  for,  the  growing  and  the  burial  of  sweet 
clover  as  for.  the  growing  and  burial  of  sand  vetch  has 
not  been  well  worked  out,  but  especially  under  hard 
conditions  the  place  for  the  growth  of  this  plant  in  order 
to  supply  humus  would  seem  to  be  a  large  one.  As 


FERTILITY  AND  HUMUS  IN  DRY  AREAS        423 

in  the  case  of  the  sand  vetch,  it  would  seem  to  be  quite 
feasible  to  sow  the  seed  in  conjunction  with  spring 
grain  without  detriment  to  the  grain,  and  to  bury  the 
clover  crop  the  following  season,  preferably  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  summer-fallowing  of  the  land.  The  sweet 
clover  produces  a  large  tonnage  relatively  for  burial,  and 
it  gathers  and  stores  in  the  soil  relatively  large  amounts 
of  nitrogen.  Moreover,  it  will  succeed  on  soils  so  strong- 
ly impregnated  with  alkali  as  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  growing  on  them  the  more  valuable  plants  with  any 
measure  of  success.  In  this  way  such  soils  may  be  im- 
proved by  the  removal  of  considerable  quantities  of  the 
alkali,  should  the  crop  be  removed,  and  by  the  favor- 
able influence  exerted  on  the  soil  mechanically  should  it 
be  buried.  Ordinarily  the  cow  pea,  the  sand  vetch  and 
sweet  clover  should  be  buried  when  in  full  bloom. 


CHAPTER.  XVIII 
LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS 

When  the  homesteader  locates  on  the  dry  farm,  his 
efforts  are  usually  concentrated,  and  properly  so,  on 
the  production  of  grain,  but  he  makes  a  serious  mis- 
take if  he  entirely  neglects  the  keeping  of  live  stock,  for 
the  presence  of  the  cow  and  the  brood-sow  are  about 
as  essential  to  the  farm  home  in  dry  areas  as  the  pres- 
ence of  the  breaking  plow.  It  is  true,  nevertheless,  that 
live  stock  on  the  dry  farm  should  not  be  introduced  with 
undue  haste,  for  at  the  outset  the  furnishing  of  food  for 
winter  may  prove  a  costly  problem  in  seasons  that  are 
unusually  dry. 

That  the  production  of  grain  fo^sale  should  be  the 
principal  object  of  the  dry  farmer  during  the  first  years 
of  his  farming  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  in  time  more  or 
less  of  live  stock  should  be  grown  upon  his  farm.  This 
should  be  done  to  the  extent  of  using  practically  all  the 
coarse  grains  that  he  will  grow  and  also  the  hay  and 
straw  produced  as  well  as  the  pasture  areas  that  are 
accessible  on  the  farm  or  on  the  unoccupied  lands  that 
may  be  adjacent  thereto. 

The  lament  that  the  tillage  of  the  arable  areas  of  the 
open  range  is  going  to  destroy  the  live  stock  industry  in 
dry  areas  is  not  well  founded.  Even  on  the  arable  farm 
devoted  largely  to  the  growing  of  grain,  more  live  stock 
can  be  kept  in  addition  than  were  formerly  kept  on  a 
similar  area.  This  results  from  the  greatly  increased 
production  that  follows  the  proper  tillage  of  the  soil 
in  fodder  and  also  in  pasture.  It  would  seem  safe  to 
say  that  the  food  nutrients  in  the  straw  grown  on  an 
acre  of  well  tilled  land  in  dry  areas  will  be  more  than  the 
food  nutrients  from  an  acre  of  the  same  before  the  land 
has  been  broken.  The  food  nutrients  produced  by  an  acre 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS  425 

of  well  planned  pasture  from  grasses  grown  under 
cultivation,  should  be  from  two  to  three  times  as  much 
as  from  grasses  produced 'from  the  native  prairie.  The 
production  of  live  stock  on  the  arable  farms  will  there- 
fore, in  time,  greatly  increase  the  production  of  beef  and 
mutton,  to  say  nothing  of  the  production  of  pork  and 
poultry,  which  was  impossible  under  old-time  range  con- 
ditions. 

Why  live  stock  should  be  kept. — Live  stock  should 
be  kept  on  the  arable  form  for  the  following  reasons 
among  others  that  may  be  given:  (1)  to  prevent  waste 
on  the  farm ;  (2)  to  prevent  waste  on  the  range ;  (3)  to 
increase  diversity  in  production ;  (4)  to  maintain  fertil- 
ity in  the  land ;  (5)  to  furnish  food  for  the  home,  and 
(6)  to  increase  the  revenues  from  the  farm. 

In  the  absence  of  live  stock  on  the  arable  farm  other 
than  the  work  horses  that  till  the  land,  serious  waste 
is  unavoidable;  (1)  there  will  be  more  or  less  waste  in 
the  uneaten  grasses  of  untilled  portions ;  (2)  in  the  straw, 
much  or  all  of  which  will  probably  be  burned;  (3)  in  the 
grain  heads  that  are  lost  amid  the  stubbles  because  un- 
gleaned ;  (4)  in  the  uneaten  food  that  grows  up  amid 
the  stubbles,  and  (5)  in  the  unconsumed  grain  that  is 
unavoidably  wasted  where  threshing  is  done  in  the  open 
air.  Such  waste  is  unavoidable  in  areas  where  live  stock 
is  not  maintained. 

In  newly  settled  areas,  there  are  usually  more  or  less 
range  pastures  contiguous  to  the  individual  farms.  This 
may  be  entirely  wasted  in  the  absence  of  live  stock  to 
consume  it.  In  some  instances  these  pastures  are  so 
ample  as  to  justify  the  homesteader  in  making  the  grow- 
ing of  live  stock  the  dominant  feature  of  his  work,  until 
the  adjacent  lands  are  taken  up  as  homesteads. 

The  growing  of  live  stock  encourages  diversity  in 
production.  It  encourages  the  growth  of  forage  and  root 
crops.  While  tfiey  are  being  grown  the  land  is  being 


426  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

prepared  for  the  successful  growth  of  grain  crops  the 
following  year.  The  larger,  therefore,  that  the  area  of 
such  crops  is,  up  to  the  limit  of  the  ability  of  the  farmer 
to  properly  care  for  them  without  undue  outlay  for  hired 
help,  the  larger  should  be  his  profits  from  the  ground 
thus  tilled,  as,  to  the  extent  that  he  grows  these  crops, 
he  avoids  the  necessity  for  the  cropless  bare-fallow. 

The  introduction  of  live  stock  makes  it  possible  to 
maintain  virtually  undiminished  production  in  the  land. 
The  waning  fertility  in  lands  where  such  production  has 
been  long  deferred,  as  in  some  parts  of  the  Dakotas, 
California  and  other  states,  should  serve  as  a  warning. 
Some  lands,  and  especially  the  volcanic  ash  soils  of  the 
west,  may  stand  continued  cropping  for  many  years,  but 
ultimately  they  must  fail.  Beyond  all  question,  the  fer- 
tilizing material  produced  by  live  stock  will  add  greatly 
to  production  in  all  its  various  lines. 

Live  stock  may  be  made  to  furnish  a  large  part  of 
the  living  of  the  farmer,  and  with  but  little  cost.  The 
cow,  for  instance,  can  turn  the  free  grasses  of  the  prairie 
into  the  best  food  that  man  may  get.  The  brood-sow 
and  her  progeny  will  manufacture  the  same  grasses  with 
waste  from  the  grain  fields  into  meat  for  the  winter. 
Fowls  with  a  moderate  grain  supplement  will  turn  grass- 
hoppers and  other  insects  into  valuable  food.  Such  live 
stock,  therefore,  should  be  introduced  the  first  season 
where  there  is  a  family  on  the  ranch,  but,  of  course,  in 
very  limited  numbers. 

At  the  very  outset,  therefore,  the  revenues  of  the 
farm  may  be  increased  by  reducing  the  outlay  for  food. 
The  farmer  with  a  family  who  fails  to  try  to  grow  a  large 
part  of  his  living  on  his  own  farm  is  not  true  to  himself. 
As  time  goes  on  the  live  stock  will  become  a  source  of  con- 
siderable revenue,  although  for  several  years  it  is  not 
likely  to  become  the  chief  source  of  revenue  on  the 
arable  farm.  * 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS  427 

The  kinds  of  live  stock  to  grow. — Because  of  the 
varying  conditions,  the  discussion  of  this  question  is  not 
easy.  These  are  such  as  relate  to  the  character  of  the 
production,  the  location  and  its  surroundings  and  the 
predilections  of  the  individual.  It  will  be  manifest  that 
in  some  areas  the  production  of  grasses  will  be  relatively 
easy,  in  others  relatively  difficult.  In  one  location  pas- 
ture land  may  be  cheap  and  relatively  plentiful.  In  other 
instances  it  may  not  be  possible  to  secure  it  outside  of 
the  home.  One  man  may  succeed  best  in  handling  dairy 
stock,  and  another  will  succeed  best  with  sheep.  All 
these  and  other  factors  must  be  considered. 

Among  the  determining  factors  are  the  following: 
(1)  the  climate;  (2)  the  precipitation,  and  (3)  the  mar- 
ket. The  climate  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  shelter 
called  for  and  also  on  the  production.  Fortunately,  in' 
much  of  the  dry  area  of  the  west,  shelter  is  not  so 
much  needed  as  in  corresponding  latitudes  in  the  east, 
but  some  shelter  is  called  for,  and  more  for  some 
classes  of  live  stock  than  for  others,  and  all  shelter  is 
more  or  less  costly.  The  precipitation  has  an  important 
bearing  on  the  production.  For  instance,  in  the  upper 
Flathead  valley,  15  inches  of  rainfall  produces  more  pas- 
ture and  more  succulent  than  a  similar  rainfall  in  the 
same  latitude  west  of  the  mountains,  hence  dairying 
may  be  more  readily  conducted  in  the  former  than  in  the 
latter.  The  market  demands  alone  may  determine  the 
character  of  the  live  stock  that  ought  to  be  chiefly  grown, 
and  the  facilities  for  marketing  should  also  be  carefully 
considered.  The  farmer  with  a  good  local  market  near 
at  hand  has  a  great  advantage  over  the  one  whose  market 
is  not  local  and  distant. 

All  farmers,  whether  married  or  single,  must  have 
horses.  That  question  does  not  admit  of  discussion. 
Beyond  that  much  will  depend  on  the  presence  or  ab- 
sence of  a  family  in  the  home.  Where  it  is  present,  it 


428  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

is,  in  a  sense,  imperative  to  have  enough  live  stock  to 
supply  the  needs  of  the  family.  This  means  that  the 
farmers  must,  in  a  sense,  have  some  cows,  swine  and 
poultry,  and  it  will  be  all  the  more  to  their  interest  to 
have  some  sheep,  especially  after  the  farm  is  fenced. 
The  farmer  thus  equipped,  who  at  the  same  time  grows 
his  own  vegetables  and  small  fruits,  has  but  little  addi- 
tional outlay  for  his  living.  To  furnish  this  he  does 
not  need  to  maintain  a  large  number  of  any  of  these 
classes  of  animals. 

Under  some  conditions  it  may  be  wise  to  extend 
the  growing  of  live  stock  so  as  to  make  it  trfe  dominant 
industry,  even  at  an  early  day  in  the  work  of  the  home- 
steader, as,  for  instance,  where  free  or  very  cheap  pas- 
tures are  easily  accessible.  Such  extension  may  apply 
to  horses,  cattle  or  sheep,  according  to  the  conditions 
that  may  be  present. 

Stocking  the  dry  farm. — As  a  rule,  the  live  stock 
on  a  dry  farm  should  be  introduced  very  gradually.  For 
this  several  reasons  may  be  given.  First,  there  has  not 
been  time  to  make  suitable  preparation  to  care  for  them 
in  a  large  way.  The  outbuildings  are  not  ready.  Fences 
have  not  been  built.  It  may  be  that  winter  water  sup- 
plies have  not  been  secured.  There  has  not  been  time 
to  make  sure  of  winter  supplies  of  food,  as  the  bulk  of 
the  ground  broken  is  usually  wanted  for  grain.  The 
introduction  of  much  stock  by  purchase  is  costly.  It 
is  much  better,  as  a  rule,  for  the  dry  land  farmer  whose 
operations  must  be  confined  to  his  own  farm,  to  begin 
with  a  small  amount,  and  to  grow  much  or  all  of  the 
subsequent  increase.  When  increase  is  made  in  this 
way,  all  the  operations  of  the  farm  may  be  kept  in  due 
balance.  Such  increase  is  thus  obtained  at  a  minimum 
of  cost.  VThe  experience  while  making  it  has  been  ob- 
tained under  the  attendant  conditions,  and  is,  therefore, 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS  429 

doubly  valuable.     The  protection  wanted  may  also  be 
furnished  at  a  minimum  cost. 

The  amount  of  live  stock  that  a  dry  land  farm  will 
sustain  cannot  be  stated.  It  cannot  be  even  approxi- 
mated, owing  to  the  very  great  difference  in  the  condi- 
tions. It  will  r3e  at  once  manifest  that  where  the  rain- 
fall is  18  inches,  much  more  live  stock  can  be  kept  than 
where  it  is  but  12,  or  even  15  inches.  It  will  also  be  ap- 
parent that  where  bulky  foods  may  be  readily  grown,  as 
corn  and  the  sorghums,  more  live  stock  relatively  may 
be  kept  than  in  areas  where  these  do  not  succeed  well 
because  of  low  temperatures.  It  would  seem  safe  to 
say,  that  the  amount  of  live  stock  that  a  dry  farm  will 
sustain  will  increase  with  increase  in  the  precipitation. 
The  relative  number  that  such  a  farm  will  sustain  is  not 
high,  not  so  high  as  in  humid  areas.  Such  farming 
where  the  farmer  has  no  access  to  outside  grazing  lands 
is  usually  a  mixed  farming  proposition  in  which  the 
growing  of  grain  for  sale  will  probably  be  a  dominant 
factor  for  many  years  to  come.  It  would  be  unwise, 
therefore,  for  one  situated  thus  to  make  the  growing 
of  live  stock  a  dominant  factor  in  his  work  at  the  out- 
set, but  this  may  be  done  by  the  farmer  who  has  access 
to  pastures  that  are  cheap  or  free. 

Great  care  should  be  exercised  not  to  overstock  the 
dry  farm.  Under  the  most  favored  conditions,  such  a 
mistake  is  very  costly,  as  it  forces  the  sale  of  the  ani- 
mals, whether  in  good  condition  or  lean,  and  at  such  a 
time  it  is  almost  certain  that  they  will  be  lean.  When 
a  very  dry  season  comes,  and  it  may  come  at  any  time, 
there  may  be  a  serious  shortage  in  both  pasture  and  fod- 
der, hence  some  reserve  kept  over  from  a  season  more 
bountiful  may  be  a  wise  provision.  While  the  hazard 
mentioned  may  occur,  it  does  not  furnish  a  fitting  ex- 
cuse for  the  exclusion  of  live  stock  from  any  farm. 


430  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Growing  horses. — On  the  dry  farm  horses  will  al- 
ways be  necessary  in  order  to  do  a  large  part  of  the 
work.  This  statement  does  not  mean  that  other  kinds 
of  power,  as  steam  and  gasoline,  may  not  be  exten- 
sively used,  especially  in  breaking  up  the  stubborn  soils 
of  the  prairie.  The  horse  will  always  .be  in  evidence 
not  only  on  the  dry  farm,  but  on  all  farms. 

Usually  from  three  to  four  horses  are  called  for 
when  breaking  up  the  stubborn  soils  of  the  prairie. 
There  would  seem  to  be  no  good  reasons  why  two  at 
least  should  not  be  brood  mares.  These  may  produce 
foals  while  aiding  in  doing  the  work  of  the  farm,  pro- 
viding they  are  carefully  worked.  As  much  work  should 
not  be  exacted  of  them  as  if  they  were  not  suckling 
foals,  but  they  will  still  do  a  large  amount  of  work  and 
also  rear  foals  if  well  fed.  It  will,  furthermore,  be  a 
decided  advantage  if  such  foals  come  in  the  autumn, 
for  then  the  dams  can  suckle  them  at  that  season  of 
the  year  when  they  are  not  worked,  as  they  are  in  the 
summer.  Experience  has  shown  that  brood  mares 
worked  in  moderation  will  rear  foals  more  surely  and 
in  better  form  than  those  that  are  not  worked  at  all. 
The  young  horses,  if  of  the  draught  types,  may  be  made 
to  aid  in  the  light  work  of  the  farm  when  from  2  to  3 
years  of  age,  and  when  they  have  reached  the  latter 
age,  they  will  sell  readily  for  a  good  price. 

Horses  reared  in  the  dry  country  call  for  but  little 
shelter  at  any  season  of  the  year.  When  allowed  liberty, 
they  can  secure  food  where  other  classes  of  live  stock 
would  not  be  able  to  do  so,  as  when,  for  instance,  the 
ground  is  covered  with  snow.  The  habit  of  pawing  to 
remove  the  snow  makes  it  possible  for  them  to  live  and 
flourish  where  other  classes  of  live  stock  would  not 
survive  under  similar  conditions.  In  the  winter  they 
will  utilize  such  foods  as  straw  to  better  advantage 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS  431 

than  most  other  live  stock.     Relatively,  therefore,  they 
may  be  grown  cheaply. 

The  return  is  also  large,  for  the  numbers  kept. 
Where  the  farmer  devotes  his  attention  mainly  to  the 
growing  of  this  class  of  stock,  he  does  not  need  to  have 
many  of  them  on  the  place  at  one  time,  hence  there  is 
but  little  hazard  of  loss  in  a  season  of  drought.  Where 
range  of  rough  pastures  is  accessible,  in  the  larger 
portion  of  the  dry  country,  horses  will  come  through 
the  winter  in  good  form  without  the  necessity  of  very 
much  supplemental  food. 

The  supplemental  foods  for  the  feeding  of  growing 
foals  include  alfalfa,  fodder  corn  fed  in  the  bundle,  and 
straw,  in  northern  areas.  For  idle  work  horses,  straw 
will  suffice  for  much  of  the  winter.  In  southern  areas, 
alfalfa,  Milo  maize,  Kaffir  corn  and  sorghum  will  best 
answer  the  purpose.  Milo  maize  is  also  much  esteemed 
for  feeding  work  horses  in  these  areas.  It  is  usually 
fed  to  them  as  grain  food  in  the  head,  which  not  only 
obviates  the  necessity  for  threshing  the  grain,  but  it 
also  insures  a  more  complete  digestion  of  the  naturally 
hard  grain,  since  it  is  more  thoroughly  masticated. 

Growing  dairy  cattle. — That  the  dry  farm  is  not 
nearly  so  well  adapted  for  dairying  as  the  irrigated  farm 
cannot  be  gainsaid.  The  creamery,  therefore,  will  not 
probably  be  much  in  evidence  where  dry  farming  is  fol- 
lowed for  many  years  subsequent  to  the  settlement  of 
the  land.  But  this  does  not  mean  that  home  dairying 
may  not  be  practised  in  a  moderate  way,  even  at  the 
outset  of  the  farming.  It  may  even  be  wise  in  some  in- 
stances for  a  farmer  to  give  considerable  attention  to 
dairying  at  the  outset,  where  free  pasture  is  plentiful, 
but  when  the  stock  must  be  confined  to  the  limits  of  the 
arable  farm,  the  number  of  cows  kept  should  not  usually 
be  large. 


432  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Where  the  cows  are  to  be  kept  within  the  limits  of 
the  farm,  the  grazing  problem  is  more  difficult  than  the 
furnishing  of  winter  foods.  The  pastures  that  may  be 
grown  are  discussed  elsewhere  (see  p.  355).  These,  how- 
ever, may  be  supplemented  by  such  soiling  foods  as  al- 
falfa, corn  and  field  roots  in  the  north,  and  by  alfalfa, 
the  sorghums,  Milo  maize  and  stock  melons  in  the 
south. 

The  winter  food  in  the  north  may  be  made  up  al- 
most entirely  of  alfalfa  hay  and  corn  fodder  fed  in  the 
bundle,  and  supplemented  by  a  very  small  amount  of 
rye,  barley  or  speltz  fed  in  the  ground  form.  The  ra- 
tion may  also  consist  of  alfalfa  and  grain  cut  underripe 
and  fed  unthreshed.  A  mixture  of  Canada  field  peas 
and  beardless  barley  grown  together  is  excellent.  This 
also  is  true  of  millet  grown  in  rows  and  cultivated.  In 
southern  areas  the  winter  food  may  consist  mainly  of 
alfalfa  hay,  sorghum  and  Milo  maize  fodder,  and  a  sup- 
plement of  Milo  or  sorghum  meal,  or  of  ground  speltz. 
The  Milo  maize  may  be  fed  as  seed  and  heads  ground 
together. 

The  cows  should  drop  their  calves  in  the  fall  rather 
than  the  spring,  as  the  calves  can  be  fed  with  more  care 
and  success  in  the  winter  season.  The  cows  will  then 
be  dry  in  those  months  of  the  late  summer  when  the 
pastures  are  dry.  When  thus  managed,  the  milk  flow 
will  be  better  sustained,  and  the  lactation  period  more 
or  less  prolonged. 

As  such  cows  will,  of  course,  be  hand-milked,  the 
skim  milk  and  the  buttermilk  should  be  fed  to  calves 
and  swine.  The  butter  or  the  cheese  product,  as  the 
case  may  be,  will  usually  find  its  way  to  private  cus- 
tomers, as  it  will  be  too  restricted  in  quantity  for  a 
wholesale  market. 

Growing  beef  cattle. — In  dry  areas  the  field  for 
growing  beef  is  probably  wider  than  that  for  growing 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS  433 

dairy  products,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  may  be  grown 
largely,  in  many  instances,  on  rugged  and  broken  pas- 
tures in  proximity  to  the  arable  farm  or  forming  a  part 
of  it.  During  the  milk  period,  beef  will  be  produced 
by  methods  that  are  radically  different.  On  the  strictly 
arable  farm,  the  calves  will  be  hand-fed,  while  on  the 
arable  and  rugged  farm,  they  will  be  suckled  by  their 
dams. 

When  reared  by  hand,  the  calves  should  be  progeny 
of  dual  cows,  and  the  aim  should  be  to  have  them  come 
in  the  fall.  If  the  progeny  of  dairy  cows,  they  should 
be  sired  by  a  beef  bull.  They  should  be  reared  essen- 
tially on  skim  milk  and  adjuncts  after  the  age  of  two 
weeks.  They  should  have  good  grazing,  as  rye  or  rape, 
sown  especially  for  them,  and  they  should,  as  a  rule,  be 
put  on  the  market  at  the  age  of  not  more  than  18  months. 
While  taking  milk,  and  subsequently,  such  meals  as 
bran,  ground  oats,  barley  or  Milo  maize  should  be  fed 
to  them  freely,  also  a  nice  quality  of  alfalfa  hay.  Dur- 
ing the  second  winter  they  should  be  fed  on  such  fod- 
ders as  alfalfa,  corn  and  sorghum,  and  should  get  a  few 
pounds  daily  of  such  meal  as  barley,  speltz  or  Milo 
maize.  The  aim  should  be  to  force  growth  with  a  pru- 
dent haste  and  thus  shorten  the  period  of  pasturing  and 
effect  a  substantial  saving  in  the  food  of  maintenance. 

When  reared  on  the  dams  during  the  milk  period,  it 
may  not  always  be  the  best  plan  to  have  the  calves  come 
in  the  fall,  as  when  they  come  in  the  spring  the  cows 
may  oftentimes  graze  much  of  the  winter  on  the  rugged 
pastures.  Provision  should  be  made  for  saving  such 
pasture  by  keeping  the  stock  from  grazing  on  that  por- 
tion in  summer.  The  first  winter  the  calves  should  be 
given  a  moderate  amount  of  grain  along  with  the  fod- 
ders named  above.  The  second  summer  they  will  be 
on  the  pastures  without  grain.  The  second  winter  they 
may  be  fed*  similarly  to  the  hand-reared  calves  when 


434  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

preparing  them  for  market,  and  they  ought  to  be  sold 
when  two  years  old.  Some  western  farmers  head  their 
wheat  and  feed  it  thus  to  cattle  that  are  being  fattened. 
The  wisdom  of  doing  so  is  to  be  questioned.  They 
should  then  weigh  about  1,200  to  1,300  pounds,  while 
those  hand-fed  would  weigh  about  1,000  pounds. 

Such  animals  should  find  a  ready  market  wherever 
high-class  meat  is  wanted.  Grown  thus  it  will  be  high- 
class  meat,  and  should  command  the  highest  price. 
When  growing  such  meat,  it  should  never  be  allowed  to 
become  lean. 

Sheep  on  the  dry  farm. — When  sheep  are  reared  on 
the  dry  farm  the  number  so  reared  should  not  be  very 
large.  The  production  on  the  same  when  mixed  in  char- 
acter would  not  justify  the  maintenance  of  numbers 
so  large  relatively  as  in  humid  areas.  In  the  latter, 
sown  pastures  may  be  grown  in  succession  through  all 
the  season,  but  only  to  a  limited  extent  in  the  former. 
The  numbers,  however,  should  be  enough  to  consume 
all  the  forage  that  would  otherwise  go  to  waste,  as,  for 
instance,  grazing  in  the  lanes  and  amid  the  stubbles 
in  the  fields  and  on  summer-fallow  land.  On  every 
farm  the  pasture  from  such  a  source  is  ample  to  sustain 
a  small  flock  of  sheep,  which  may  be  thus  grazed  vir- 
tually in  most  localities  'for  three-fourths  of  the  year 
without  cost.  The  benefit  thus  rendered  will  be  marked 
in  the  destruction  of  weeds,  and  in  distributing  more 
or  less  fertilizer  over  the  land. 

When  rough  pasture  areas  are  contiguous  to  or  form 
a  part  of  the  dry  arable  farm,  sheep  can  be  grazed  on 
them  about  in  the  same  way  as  cattle  are  grazed  as  de- 
scribed above..  The  breeding  portion  of  the  flock  may  be 
wintered  on  food  grown  on  the  arable  portion  of  the 
farm.  The  part  of  the  flock  to  be  disposed  of  may  be 
finished  on  pastures  grown  for  the  purpose.  These  may 
comprise  Dwarf  Essex  rape  grown  in  rows  and  culti- 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS 


435 


vated  as  a  rule,  some  dwarfish  kind  of  corn  or  peas  and 
white  hulless  barley.  These  will  be  grazed  where  they 
grew,  and,  if  necessary,  they  may  be  supplemented  by 
more  grain  grown  on  the  farm,  as,  for  instance,  barley 
in  the  north  and  Milo  maize  threshed  or  in  the  head  in 
the  south. 


SHEEP  ON    RANGE  PASTURES,  MALHEUR  COUNTY,   OREGON. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

When  simply  fattened  on  the  farm  the  supplies  for 
fattening  will  be  purchased  and  they  will  be  finished  on 
foods  such  as  have  been  referred  to  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph. In  the  San  Luis  valley  of  Colorado  the  fattening 
of  sheep  mainly  on  peas  has  grown  into  a  large  industry. 
There  are  no  reasons  for  concluding  that  this  industry 
may  not  be  extended  to  many  other  areas. 

The  opportunity  to  fatten  sheep  on  Squaw  corn  or 
some  other  small  variety  grown  for  the  purpose  in  the 


436  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

dry  area,  is  thus  virtually  without  limit.  The  growing  of 
the  corn  stores  moisture  in  the  soil  for  the  next  crop, 
and  feeding  it  off  thus  furnishes  readily  available  fer- 
tility. Such  grazing  is  not  well  adapted  to  areas  in 
which  considerable  rain  or  snow  falls  in  the  autumn 
months. 

The  market  for  the  surplus  of  the  small  flock  should 
be  found  chiefly  on  the  farm  itself.  It  should  furnish  an 
important  source  from  which  the  home  supply  of  meat 
may  be  obtained,  especially  in  the  winter  season.  When 
finished  in  a  wholesale  way,  as  on  crops  that  are  grazed, 
they  will  be  in  condition  to  meet  the  needs  of  any  mar- 
ket that  may  be  accessible  to  them. 

Swine  on  the  dry  farm. — The  place  for  swine  on  the 
dry  farm  will  always  be  one  of  considerable  importance. 
From  this  source,  more  than  any  other,  must  come  the 
supply  of  farm  meats.  "To  purchase  meat  for  the  home 
on  the  dry  farm  that  may  be  all  grown  upon  it  would 
be  a  grave  mistake,  owing  to  the  fact  that  pork  may 
be  slaughtered  at  almost  any  age  should  necessity  call 
for  it.  Complications  which  sometimes  arise  with  other 
animals  from  over-stocking  may  be  prevented.  Where 
a  few  cows  are  kept,  the  milk  will  aid  greatly  in  giving 
the  swine  a  good  start  in  growth  at  an  early  age. 

But  even  in  the  absence  of  cows,  swine  may  be 
grown  with  much  profit.  The  young  pigs  should  remain 
on  the  dams  until  they  become  self-weaned,  and  the 
farmer  should  be  content,  as  a  rule,  with  but  one  litter 
from  each  dam  in  one  year.  With  the  aid  of  skim  milk, 
two  litters  may  be  grown  save  where  the  winters  are 
quite  cold.  The  dry  land  farmer  is  not  in  a  position  to 
grow  swine  as  cheaply  or  as  numerously  as  the  farmer 
who  grows  the  same  in  irrigated  areas.  In  summer  al- 
falfa is  the  basic  pasture  for  swine  in  the  larger  portion 
of  the  dry  country.  But  other  pasture,  as  Dwarf  Essex 
rape,  beardless  and  hulless  barley,  is  good.  In  the  south 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS 


437 


the  sorghums  may  be  made  to  add  to  the  grazing; 
northward  swine  may  be  finished  in  the  fields,  as  on 
peas  or  some  small  kind  of  corn.  In  the  south  peanuts 
and  also  corn  furnish  good  fattening  foods.  If  Milo 
maize  is  fed  it  should  not  be  fed  alone,  as  the  swine  do 
not  thrive  when  fed  thus. 

On  the  dry  farm  the  needs  of  the  family  must  first 
be  supplied.     If  there  is  a  surplus  beyond  this,  it  will 


SWINEJGROWN  ON  DRY  LAND  FARM,   NEAR  HOBSON,  MONTANA 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  RailwayJCo. 

usually  find  a  market  without  the  need  for  shipping  it. 
This  is  one  of  the  few  food  commodities  that  will  never 
glut  the  market,  but  it  may  be  necessary  sometimes,  as 
when  large  numbers  are  grown  and  fattened  on  products 
in  the  field,  to  ship  the  animals  away  by  rail. 

Poultry  on  the  dry  farm. — Poultry  should  be  kept 
on  every  farm  where  there  is  a  family.  The  climatic 
conditions  for  growing  it  are,  in  nearly  all  localities, 


438  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

very  excellent,  because  of  the  dryness  of  the  air  and  its 
temperate  character.  The  relatively  small  amount  of 
grain  food  called  for  makes  the  growing  of  fowls  a  safe 
and  profitable  business,  where  it  is  wisely  conducted. 
Even  where  grain  could  only  be  grown  once  in  two  years 
on  the  same  land,  the  business  should  be  a  safe  and 
profitable  one. 

All  the  grain  foods  grown  in  dry  areas  may  be  fed 
with  profit  to  poultry  if  suitably  blended.  Of  these 
none  is  better  or  even  quite  so  good  as  wheat.  Hulless 
barley  is  excellent.  On  southern  areas  the  seed  from 
Milo  maize  and  the  sorghums  will  serve  an  excellent 
end.  These  are  frequently  fed  by  suspending  the  heads 
on  a  stretched  wire  and  allowing  the  fowls  to  .help 
themselves,  thus  furnishing  them  with  needed  exercise, 
especially  when  they  have  to  reach  high  for  the  food. 
The  varieties  with  a  bent  down  head  are  most  easily 
suspended  thus.  The  green  food  may  come  in  the  form 
of  alfalfa,  rape  and  field  roots. 

The  demand  for  these  products  will  always  con- 
tinue good,  as  they  are  staples  that  will  always  be 
wanted,  but  the  product  can  be  readily  transported  and 
at  moderate  cost  for  the  value.  In  the  home  the  product 
is  indispensable,  and  the  food  which  it  furnishes  is 
wholesome  in  character.  There  is  probably  no  other 
class  of  live  stock  that  can  be  grown  on  the  dry  farm 
that  will  yield  a  larger  profit  on  the  investment  or  that 
is  more  easily  conducted. 

The  size  for  the  dry  farm. — The  size  for  the  dry 
farm  should  be  determined  by  such  considerations  as : 
(1)  the  amount  of  the  precipitation;  (2)  the  character 
of  the  soil;  (3)  the  capacity  of  the  individual,  and  (4) 
the  style  of  the  farming. 

It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  determine  the  relative 
influence  which  these  considerations  should  exert,  but 
the  first  consideration  is  certainly  one  of  much  im- 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS  439 

portance.  It  would  seem  safe  to  say  that  the  area  to 
be  farmed  should  increase  as  the  precipitation  decreases, 
for  the  less  the  amount  of  precipitation,  the  fewer  is  the 
number  of  the  crops  that  can  be  grown  in  a  given  term 
of  years.  It  is  very  evident  that  the  farmer  who  can 
grow  but  one  crop  in  two  years  should  have  more  land 
to  till  than  the  farmer  who  may  expect  to  get  a  crop 
practically  every  year.  It  was  this  consideration  that 
led  to  the  granting  of  homesteads  in  certain  areas  of  320 
acres  instead  of  160  acres,  the  usual  size  for  such  farms. 

The  tillage  of  a  soil  that  is  naturally  friable  and 
that  holds  moisture  readily  does  not  call  for  so  much 
labor  as  the  tillage  of  a  heavy  soil,  hence  the  farmer 
whose  soil  is  of  the  first  class  can  till  a  much  larger 
area  than  the  farmer  whose  soil  is  of  the  second  class, 
and  with  no  greater  expenditure  of  labor.  When  tilling 
the  heavy  soil,  the  compensation  may  come  from  larger 
yields,  at  least  in  some  instances.  On  general  principles, 
therefore,  the  lighter  the  soil,  the  larger  should  be  the 
area  that  is  capable  of  being  farmed. 

When  determining  the  size  of  the  farm,  much  de- 
pends on  the  capacity  of  the  farmer.  It  is  certainly 
safe  to  assume  that  the  less  the  capacity  of  the  farmer, 
the  smaller  should  be  the  amount  of  the  land  which  he 
tills.  One  farmer  with  large  capacity  may  handle  fairly 
well  a  whole  section,  or  even  more  than  a  section,  where- 
as another  farmer  may  not  have  capacity  to  handle  well 
a  quarter  section.  Something  depends  on  the  farmer's 
family.  A  farmer  whose  family  is  sufficiently  grown 
to  enable  him  to  do  his  work  without  hiring  should  suc- 
ceed better  on  a  farm  large  enough  to  utilize  all  the 
labor  than  on  one  of  less  size.  As  wages  are  at  the 
present  time,  the  dry  land  farmer  should  sedulously  aim 
to  avoid  hiring  to  the  greatest  extent  possible,  and  to 
accomplish  this  end  when  investing  he  should  gauge  ac- 
cordingly the  size  of  the  farm  that  he  can  till. 


440  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

There  is  another  class  of  farmers  whose  work  is  in 
a  sense  speculative.  They  live  in  the  cities.  They 
usually  own  large  areas  and  farm  them  in  a  speculative 
way.  These  men  are  wholly  dependent  on  hired  labor, 
hence  in  order  to  get  a  remunerative  return  they  must 
of  necessity  farm  large  areas  and  in  a  wholesale  way. 
Such  farming  may  be  successful  as  long  as  the  land  is 
new  and  clean,  but  in  all  states  the  story  of  such  farming 
is  the  same.  Within  a  few  years  the  land  usually  be- 
comes very  foul  with  weeds  and  the  crops  become  so 
unproductive  that  tillage  operations  result  in  loss,  but 
substantial  profits  may  be  realized,  nevertheless,  from 
the  advance  in  the  price  of  the  land.  A  locality  cannot 
be  built  up  by  farming  on  those  lines  as  it  can  by  the 
effort  of  farmers  on  moderately  sized  farms,  for  reasons 
that  will  be  apparent. 

The  nature  of  the  farming  probably  more  than  any- 
thing else  should  determine  the  size  of  the  farms. 
Where  the  farmer  grows  only  grain  and  does  the  work 
mainly  himself,  160  acres  is  amply  large  for  such  a  farm. 
Where  he  keeps  live  stock  and  must  needs  confine  the 
grazing  of  them  within  the  limits  of  his  farm,  he  should 
have  not  less  than  320  acres  of  grazing  land  in  dry 
areas.  Land  in  such  areas  does  not  produce  so  much 
pasture  as  in  areas  that  are  moist.  When  the  farmer 
can  control  rough  range  pastures  contiguous  to  his  land 
or  that  form  a  part  of  it,  he  may  need  a  section  or  two 
of  rough  land  for  each  quarter  section  of  arable  land  in 
his  possession.  On  the  latter  he  will  grow  the  food  that 
he  needs  for  winter  feeding.  In  yet  other  instances 
the  farm  may  be  all  classed  as  rough  land,  and  yet  within 
it  there  may  be  enough  arable  valley  land  to  enable  the 
farmer  to  grow  on  these  the  winter  food  needed.  These 
farms  also  should  not  contain  less  probably  than  one 
or  two  sections.  Under  irrigation  the  small  farm  unit 
is  better  than  the  large  one  for  the  average  farmer. 


LIVE  STOCK  ON  DRY  FARMS  441 

While  320  acres  may  be  called  for  where  dry  land  farm- 
ing is  to  produce  the  best  maximum  results  in  dry  land, 
farming  80  acres  would  seem  ample  where  irrigation 
is  practised.  Where  the  farmer  who  can  use  irrigating 
waters  has  more  than  80  acres  to  care  for,  in  a  majority 
of  instances,  the  evidences  of  a  neglected  tillage  are 
more  or  less  present.  This  holds  true  of  lands  that  are 
farmed  more  or  less  even  on  the  lines  of  live  stock  pro- 
duction. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS 

When  the  home  seeker  is  desirous  of  locating  in  the 
semi-arid  country  he  should  not  do  so  until  he  has  ob- 
tained some  information  with  reference  to  the  nature 
and  extent  of  the  possible  and  probable  water  supply 
for  household  use,  and  also  for  such  live  stock  as  it  may 
be  necessary  to  keep  on  the  farm.  Unless  water  from 
some  source  is  obtained  in  reasonable  supply,  it  is  not 
possible  to  build  a  permanent  home. 

The  scarcity  of  water. — The  fact  should  be  recog- 
nized that  the  water  necessary  for  the  various  uses  of 
life  and  for  live  stock  is  less  plentiful  than  in  humid 
areas,  at  least  in  very  many  instances.  In  the  very 
nature  of  things  it  cannot  be  otherwise,  because  of  the 
relatively  light  character  of  the  precipitation.  But  the 
mistake  should  not  be  made  that  there  is  an  exact  rela- 
tion between  the  degree  of  the  precipitation  and  the 
degree  of  the  water  supply.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
subterranean  waters.  These  are  found  plentifully  in 
some  localities,  and  not  far  distant  from  the  surface,  even 
where  the  normal  precipitation  is  very  light. 

In  the  search  for  water,  as  by  boring  or  drilling, 
the  results  obtained  are  exceedingly  variable  in  the 
same  general  locality.  In  one  instance  good  water  and 
in  fairly  liberal  supply  can  be  obtained  within,  say,  20 
to  40  or  50  feet  of  the  surface.  In  other  instances  water 
may  not  be  obtainable  in  proximity  to  the  former  at  a 
depth  of  500  to  600  feet  and  even  at  a  greater  depth. 
Homesteaders,  therefore,  should  be  slow  to  conclude  that 
because  attempts  made  to  obtain  water  have  failed  it 
cannot  be  obtained. 

There  are  two  principal  sources  of  ground  water. 
These  are  from  precipitation  which  falls  in  the  form  of 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS  443 

rain,  sleet  and  snow  and  from  sheet  or  free  water  found 
at  various  depths.  The  natural  sources  of  the  former 
are  springs  and  streams.  The  artificial  sources  are  cis- 
terns, ponds,  irrigating  ditches  and  wells.  The  latter 
is  obtainable  from  wells  of  varying  depth.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  this  free  water  exists  everywhere  beneath 
the  earth's  surface,  but  in  some  instances  it  is  so  deep 
that  it  is  not  practicable  to  reach  it,  for  economic  uses. 
In  instances  not  a  few,  it  is  found  at  depths  not  far  be- 
low the  surface,  and  this  is  true  of  it  in  some  instances 
in  areas  that  are  unusually  dry. 

Ground  or  free  water  is  very  abundant.  It  has  been 
claimed  that  this  free  water  in  the  earth's  surface  should 
cover  it  to  the  depth  of  90  feet.  If  only  a  limited  pro- 
portion of  this  could  be  obtained  everywhere  without 
too  great  expense,  it  would  make  possible  the  tillage 
of  all  the  arable  land  in  arid  and  semi-arid  regions, 
providing  the  water  was  always  of  such  a  character  as 
to  properly  sustain  plant  life. 

In  some  instances  subterranean  waters  are  so  im- 
pregnated with  foreign  influences,  especially  soda  and 
salt,  as  to  be  unfit  for  use  by  humans,  and  yet  they  may 
be  taken  with  apparent  relish  and  without  injury  by 
live  stock.  In  yet  other  instances  the  impregnation  is 
so  strong  that  it  will  not  properly  sustain  animal  or 
vegetable  life.  But  usually  such  ground  water  is  of  the 
purest  and  the  best.  The  character  of  the  water  is  influ- 
enced, of  course,  by  the  substances  through  which  and 
over  which  it  passes. 

The  little  that  is  known  as  to  the  whereabouts  of 
subterranean  waters,  linked  with  the  fact  that  they  do 
exist  not  infrequently  in  very  unlikely  places,  emphasizes 
the  benefit  that  would  accrue  from  determining  their 
whereabouts.  The  expense  that  would  thus  be  involved 
would  be  so  great  that  it  could  not  be  borne  by  in- 
dividuals. It  is  a  work  that  may  be  best  done  by  the 


444  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

state  or  by  the  central  government.  In  this  way  the 
general  course  of  these  underground  basins  may  be  so 
certainly  traced  that  it  would  be  known  where  water 
could  be  obtained  over  them. 

Why  water  is  scarce. — Water  is  scarce  in  the  arid 
and  semi-arid  regions  because:  (1)  of  the  low  precipita- 
tion; (2)  of  the  character  of  the  precipitation;  (3)  of 
the  hardness  of  the  unbroken  soil ;  (4)  of  the  extent 
to  which  moisture  from  snow  escapes,  and  (5)  of  the 
relatively  rapid  evaporation. 

The  low  precipitation  is  one  of  the  most  potent  of 
the  reasons  for  the  scarcity  of  water  in  dry  areas.  It 
stands  to  reason  that  where  the  precipitation  is  light 
the  available  water  supply  will  be  meagre.  It  is  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  where  the  rainfall  is  40  inches 
per  annum  water  in  the  soil  and  subsoil  will  be  much 
more  plentiful  than  where  the  rainfall  is  20  inches,  and 
where  the  rainfall  is  20  inches  it  is  much  more  plenti- 
ful than  where  it  is  10  inches.  Where  the  rainfall  is 
20  inches  the  moisture  should  be  such  as  to  make  it 
easily  possible  to  grow  crops  with  much  certainty  and 
to  establish  very  desirable  homes.  When  the  rainfall  is 
15  inches,  crops  may  still  be  grown  with  much  certainty 
and  homes  may  also  be  built,  but  not  so  easily  as  under 
the  conditions  previously  stated.  Where  the  rainfall 
is  but  10  inches,  fair  crops  may  usually  be  grown,  but 
home  building  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term  is  difficult 
in  the  absence  of  irrigating  waters.  But  the  conclusion 
should  not  be  reached,  that  the  amount  of  the  water 
that  falls  is  the  chief  factor  in  determining  the  amount 
of  the  water  present.  True,  it  is  an  important  factor, 
but  it  is  only  one  of  a  number. 

The  character  of  the  precipitation  exerts  a  greatly 
important  influence  on  the  water  supply.  Should  it 
come  in  the  winter  much  of  it  may  be  lost  to  the  soil 
because:  (1)  of  the  extent  to  which  the  soil  may  be 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS  445 

frozen;  (2)  of  the  too  rapid  melting  of  the  snow,  and 
(3)  because  of  evaporation  under  some  conditions. 
Should  it  come  in  the  late  spring  and  early  summer 
months,  the  loss  from  evaporation  under  good  manage- 
ment will  be  very  considerable.  Should  it  come  in  down- 
pours much  of  it  may  run  away  over  the  surface  and 
into  the  gullies.  Should  much  of  it  come  in  the  form 
of  light  showers,  it  is  much  liable  to  escape  from  the 
surface  soil  through  evaporation.  Showers  long  and 
moderate  are  much  to  be  preferred. 

The  soil  while  yet  unbroken  is  hard.  For  long 
centuries  the  soil  has  been  trodden  upon  by  the  feet  of 
animals.  In  many  places  the  rains  have  frequently  fallen 
upon  it  in  dashes,  which  has  tended  to  impact  rather 
than  to  open  up  the  surface.  There  has  been  an  almost 
entire  absence  of  the  rains  which  sometimes  fall  gently 
for  successive  days  in  humid  climates,  the  water  enter- 
ing the  earth  rather  than  running  over  its  surface.  The 
outcome  has  been  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  pre- 
cipitation that  fell  never  entered  the  soil  at  all,  and,  as 
a  rule,  the  amount  that  fell  was  relatively  small.  Of 
course,  once  in  the  streams  it  was  forever  lost  to  the 
soil. 

In  much  of  the  semi-arid  country  warm  winds  come 
occasionally,  even  in  the  winter.  These  winds  are  thought 
to  be  influenced  by  the  waters  of  the  Pacific.  They 
are  so  warm  that  in  some  instances  they  are  capable 
of  melting  a  foot  of  snow  or  more,  in  24  hours.  When 
deep  snow  is  melted  thus  quickly,  the  principal  portion 
thereof  runs  away  over  the  impacted  unbroken  soil, 
even  though  the  soil  should  not  be  frozen.  When  it  is 
frozen,  the  condition  is  still  further  aggravated.  In  this 
way  but  a  fractional  amount  of  the  winter's  precipitation 
may  enter  the  soil. 

In  the  semi-arid  country  evaporation  is  more  rapid 
than  it  is  ordinarily  in  humid  areas.  This  is  owing:  (1) 


446  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

to  the  less  degree  of  the  humidity  in  the  air;  (2)  to  the 
character  of  the  winds  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  (3)  to  the  greater  tendency  in  many  soils  to  form 
cracks  than  is  usual  in  soils  in  humid  areas.  It  is  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  dry  air  moving  over  a  soil  will 
evaporate  water  on  the  earth  and  for  some  distance 
beneath  it  more  quickly  than  air  that  is  already  sur- 
charged with  moisture.  It  is  also  reasonable  to  con- 
clude that  the  more  rapidly  the  currents  move  along, 
the  larger  will  be  the  amount  of  moisture  removed. 
Winds  are  strong  relatively  in  the  spring  months  in 
the  semi-arid  country,  the  time  when  in  many  areas 
moisture  is  present  in  most  abundance.  This  means  that 
unless  the  escape  of  this  moisture  is  prevented  in  some 
way  much  of  it  will  be  lost  to  the  soil.  The  contrac- 
tion of  the  soil  when  drying  forms  cracks.  The  more 
numerous  and  larger  and  deeper  the  cracks  the  greater 
the  amount  of  the  moisture  that  will  be  lost. 

For  the  reasons  given  above,  the  shortage  of  water 
in  dry  areas  is  intensified.  It  explains  why  ponds  or 
basins  are  so  few  that  hold  water  all  the  year.  It  makes 
it  clear  why  living  streams  are  so  few  save  in  proximity 
to  the  mountains.  It  gives  the  reason  also  why  lakes 
are  so  generally  absent  and  why  springs  are  so  rare. 
Under  these  conditions  it  could  not  be  otherwise  than 
that  water  from  wells  would  be  more  difficult  to  obtain 
in  abundant  supply  than  in  humid  areas. 

The  sources  of  water  in  detail. — The  following  are 
the  principal  channels  or  sources  from  which  water  is 
obtained  in  dry  areas:  (1)  that  caught  from  roofs  and 
in  draws ;  (2)  that  obtained  from  springs  and  streams ; 
(3)  that  which  comes  from  irrigating  ditches ;  (4)  that 
which  is  obtained  from  wells,  and  (5)  that  which  comes 
from  artesian  sources. 

The  water  obtained  from  roofs  must  always  be 
limited  in  supply  for  the  reason,  first,  that  the  precipita- 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS  447 

tion  is  light,  and,  second,  that  the  roof  surface  is  rela- 
tively small.  A  building,  say,  40  by  60  feet  should 
catch  approximately  14,080  gallons  of  water  in  one  year 
from  a  rainfall  of  15  inches,  providing  none  of  it  is 
allowed  to  waste.  This  may,  in  some  instances  at 
least,  furnish  water  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  household 
and  of  a  small  garden  as  well. 

The  water  caught  in  draws  and  ravines  may  be  of 
considerable  volume.  Its  source  is  water  that  comes 
from  winter  rains,  from  the  melting  of  winter  snows, 
and  from  rains  in  summer  when  the  water  falls  so 
rapidly  as  to  run  away,  in  part  at  least,  over  the  surface. 
To  hold  this  water  may  not  always  be  easy,  because  of 
the  length  and  height  of  the  dam  required,  and  in  some 
instances  because  of  seepage  through  the  soil.  Water 
from  roofs  is  caught  and  held  in  cement  lined  cisterns. 
Cement  may  also  be  used  in  arresting  flood  waters,,  but 
when  thus  used  the  cost  entailed  may  be  very  consid- 
erable. 

In  all  parts  of  the  dry  areas,  water  obtained  from 
springs  may  be  utilized  to  great  advantage.  The  regret- 
ful fact  is  that  springs,  although  so  precious,  are  so 
scarce  in  dry  areas.  Notwithstanding,  they  may  be  used 
with  much  profit  even  though  distant  from  the  home. 

Instances  are  on  record  wherein  a  tiny,  insignificant 
spring  has  been  made  to  supply  the  home,  although  lo- 
cated several  miles  away,  the  water  being  carried 
through  pipes. 

Water  from  streams  is  equally  valuable  when  it  is 
easily  accessible,  but  in  very  many  instances  what  may 
be  termed  living  streams  are  very  few  and  far  between 
in  dry  areas.  Unless  sufficiently  near  to  be  fed  by  melt- 
ing snows  on  the  mountains,  these  streams  are  much 
liable  to  become  dry  and  remain  so  soon  after  the  season 
of  greatest  precipitation  until  the  arrival  of  the  season 
of  precipitation  that  follows.  In  a  few  instances,  the 


448  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

lower  depressions  in  the  bed  may  carry  water  for  stock 
through  the  year. 

Irrigating  ditches  may  be  utilized  in  furnishing  to 
dry  land  homes  the  necessary  water  when  they  are  suffi- 
ciently near,  which,  however,  is  not  the  case  in  a  great 
majority  of  instances.  Dependence  on  such  water  alone 
is  hazardous,  unless  the  ditch  is  supplied  with  water  all 
the  year,  which  seldom  happens.  This  objection  may 
be  so  far  met  by  leading  a  reserve  of  water  into  a  reser- 
voir, or  by  pumping  into  the  same  at  the  proper  season. 
When  water  from  such  reservoirs  can  be  spared  to  soak 
the  land,  even  after  the  crops  are  reaped,  it  may  aid  the 
crops  materially  that  are  grown  there  the  following 
year. 

Water  from  wells  comes  from  a  very  satisfactory 
source,  providing  (1)  that  it  is  sufficient  in  supply;  (2) 
that  it  is  not  too  costly  to  raise,  and  (3)  that  it  has  the 
right  qualities  when  obtained.  It  is  satisfactory  because 
in  the  range  country  it  is  free  from  contamination  such 
as  may  come  from  external  sources.  In  some  instances, 
however,  the  supply  is  inadequate,  in  others  it  has  come 
from  great  depths,  and  in  yet  others  it  is  so  affected  with 
undesirable  substances  as  to  be  unfit  for  use.  But  in 
a  great  majority  of  instances  subterranean  waters  are 
good. 

Water  from  artesian  sources  is  usually  of  good 
quality,  but  the  first  cost  of  obtaining  it  is  frequently 
more  than  the  farmer  is  able  to  bear.  Should  a  flowing 
well  be  obtained  on  a  ranch  in  the  semi-arid  country, 
its  worth  to  its  possessor  cannot  easily  be  overestimat- 
ed. It  is  a  continual  source  of  blessing.  Should  it  entail 
the  cost  of  pumping  it  would  still  be  a  blessing.  But 
the  farmer  should  be  slow  to  begin  drilling  for  artesian 
water  without  first  having  a  good  assurance  from  some 
reliable  source  that  his  search  will  not  be  in  vain. 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS  449 

How  water  that  falls  may  be  saved. — The  water  that 
falls  in  dry  areas  may  be  saved:  (1)  by  constructing 
cement  lined  cisterns;  (2)  by  erecting  dams  of  proper 
construction ;  (3)  by  piping  from  more  or  less  distant 
springs.  The  reference  here,  of  course,  is  to  the  sav- 
ing of  water  that  is  needed  for  drinking,  for  economic 
uses  in  the  household  and  for  live  stock.  The  saving 
of  the  water  of  precipitation  for  the  use  of  the  crops  is 
an  entirely  different  proposition.  To  discuss  that,  ques- 
tion properly  is  to  discuss  the  whole  question  of  the 
management  of  the  soil  when  farming  dry  areas. 

Water  collected  from  the  roofs  of  buildings  can 
only  be  preserved  in  cisterns  or  in  wells.  In  these  the 
water  collected  cannot  usually  be  held  .in  the  absence 
of  a  cement  lining.  When  water  may  be  stored 
thus,  the  loss  through  evaporation  is  almost  entirely 
prevented.  It  may  also  be  protected  from  contaminating 
influences.  The  cost  of  such  storage  need  not  be  very 
large. 

The  dams  that  are  to  aid  in  the  storage  of  waters 
will  be  costly  in  proportion  to  their  size,  to  the  avail- 
ibility  of  the  materials  for  their  construction  and  to  the 
nature  of  the  materials  used.  In  size  they  run  all  the 
way  from  a  few  feet  in  height  and  thrown  across  a 
narrow  neck  of  a  ravine,  to  the  dimensions  of  a  dam  that 
may  tax  the  power  of  a  large  corporation  to  build  it. 
It  is  only  the  small  dam  and  the  small  reservoir  that 
the  average  farmer  should  try  to  build.  Even  when 
this  is  undertaken,  the  plan  is  good  which  seeks  advice 
from  those  skilled  in  such  work.  The  materials  suitable 
for  construction  may  be  at  hand.  In  other  instances  they 
have  to  be  brought  some  distance.  Usually,  however,  the 
materials  at  hand  will  suffice,  providing  the  aid  of  cement 
is  called  in  when  necessary.  Of  course,  such  dams  will 
be  costly  of  construction  in  proportion  to  the  extent  to 
which  cement  is  called  for.  In  some  instances,  however, 


450  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

impervious  clay  furnishes  a  cheaper  material.  By  a 
process  sometimes  spoken  of  as  "puddling"  it  is  made 
to  prevent  the  seepage  of  water  very  effectively  that 
would  otherwise  take  place  through  materials  such  as 
are  often  used  in  the  construction  of  dams. 

When  making  such  reservoirs  the  fact  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of  that  under  many  conditions  fully  50  per 
cent,  will  be  lost  by  evaporation.  The  proportional  loss 
from  this  source  will  not  be  commensurate  with  the 
capacity  of  the  reservoir.  The  more  shallow  the  reser- 
voir in  proportion  to  its  capacity,  the  greater  will  be 
the  loss  from  evaporation,  because  of  the  relatively  larger 
amount  of  the  water  surface  that  is  thus  exposed. 

Water  may  be  conveyed  from  distant  springs  in 
many  instances  at  a  cost  for  the  piping  that  is  within 
the  means  of  the  farmer.  But  when  so  conveyed  it 
ought  to  be  gathered  into  a  reservoir.  This  will  prove 
a  safeguard  against  any  interruption  in  the  conveyance 
of  the  same,  as  may  temporarily  occur. 

How  water  may  be  raised. — In  dry  areas  water  may 
be  raised:  (1)  by  wind  power;  (2)  by  gasoline  power; 
(3)  by  steam  power,  and  (4)  by  electrical  power.  Which 
of  these  should  be  employed  will  depend  largely  on  the 
cost  entailed  and  on  the  amount  of  the  water  to  be 
raised. 

Where  it  is  necessary  to  raise  only  small  quantities 
of  water  wind  power  will  suffice.  Such  power  will 
answer  as  a  rule  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  household, 
whether  the  source  of  the  supply  is  a  well,  a  reservoir 
or  an  irrigating  ditch.  It  will  also  suffice  to  raise  enough 
water  for  live  stock  in  many  instances  where  this  may 
be  necessary.  It  may  also  be  made  to  raise  water  for  a 
few  acres  of  garden  and  orchard  land  when  this  may  be 
desired.  The  capacity  of  the  mill  called  for  will  be 
largely  dependent,  first,  on  the  amount  of  water  to  be 
raised,  and,  second,  on  the  average  velocity  of  air  cur- 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS  451 

rents  in  the  locality.  The  relative  amount  of  the  work 
done  by  a  windmill  in  the  plains  country  will  be  large, 
because  of  the  absence  of  obstructions  to  the  wind  cur- 
rents in  their  course. 

That  the  irrigation  of  small  areas  from  water 
pumped  up  by  windmills  is  perfectly  feasible  has  been 
shown  in  the  experience  of  farmers  in  nearly  all  the 
states  where  semi-arid  conditions  prevail.  The  cost  of 
the  operation  will  vary  greatly  with  the  conditions,  but 
for  the  kind  of  irrigation  referred  to,  the  cost  should 
seldom  exceed  a  few  dollars  per  acre  per  year  for  the 
raising  of  the  water.  Such  water  must,  of  course,  be 
stored  in  a  reservoir  when  it  is  raised.  In  the  not 
distant  future,  windmills  that  raise  water  to  irrigate 
from  a  very  few  acres  downward  in  proximity  to  the 
home,  will  be  very  common.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
one  good  windmill  with  a  wind  velocity  of,  say,  10 
miles  an  hour,  will  raise  enough  water  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  ordinary  dry  farm  and  garden,  where  the 
water  is  not  to  be  lifted  many  feet. 

When  water  is  to  be  raised  from  depths  far  down, 
it  may  be  necessary  to  use  other  than  wind  power.  For 
the  comparatively  limited  uses  referred  to  above,  it  will 
probably  be  found  that  gasoline  power  will  raise  water 
from  considerable  depths  as  cheaply,  or  even  more  so, 
than  power  from  any  other  source.  But  it  is  at  least 
questionable  if  it  would  be  wise  to  go  to  the  expense 
of  raising  water  thus  to  be  used  on  the  ordinary  dry 
land  farm  in  the  irrigation  of  the  ordinary  farm  crops. 
It  may  pay  well,  however,  to  raise  water  thus  to  aid 
in  growing  fruit  and  truck  crops  where  the  markets 
for  the  same  are  good  and  not  too  distant. 

Steam  power  is  frequently  used  for  raising  water 
to  be  used  in  growing  various  kinds  of  farm  crops,  but 
the  expense  of  such  an  operation  on  the  dry  farm  would 
be  prohibitive.  Where  this  method  of  raising  water  is 


452  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

used  it  is  usually  as  a  part  of  some  irrigation  project. 
Where  the  supply  of  subterranean  water  is  plentiful  and 
the  lift  is  not  too  great,  water  may  be  thus  raised  for 
growing  certain  crops.  Large  areas  are  now  being  de- 
voted to  rice  grown  thus  in  Texas  and  Louisiana.  In 
the  United  States  there  are  not  fewer  than  1,000,000 
acres  of  crops  of  various  kinds  grown  from  water  that  is 
pumped.  In  some  countries,  as,  for  instance,  in  India, 
several  million  acres  are  thus  supplied  with  water  every 
year.  Sometime  large  areas  of  the  semi-arid,  and  more 
especially  the  arid,  country  may  be  supplied  with  water 
thus,  but,  if  so,  that  time  is  in  the  far-off  future. 

Electrical  power  will  seldom  be  used  on  the  dry 
farm  for  raising  water,  but  in  extensive  systems  of  irri- 
gation a  very  important  place  may  be  assigned  to  it. 
Especially  will  such  power  be  used  in  irrigated  regions 
and  not  too  distant  from  the  sources  where  such  power 
may  be  generated.  This  source  of  power  may  come  to 
be  much  used  for  lifting  water  from  irrigating  ditches 
to  higher  channels. 

Reserve  water  and  home  building. — AVhere  homes 
are  to  be  built  in  the  semi-arid  regions,  a  supply  of 
what  may  be  termed  reserve  water  is  indispensable.  By 
reserve  water  is  meant  water  stored  artificially  or  in 
wells  where  it  is  sufficiently  accessible.  In  all  instances 
such  water  is  essential  to  the  needs  of  the  home  itself. 
It  is  also  more  or  less  essential:  (1)  in  the  garden;  (2) 
in  the  orchard ;  (3)  in  the  shelter  belt,  and  (4)  in  the 
keeping  of  live  stock,  especially  such  live  stock  as  may 
be  essential  in  providing  for  the  needs  of  the  family. 
When  water  cannot  be  secured  for  all  these  uses  in 
the  semi-arid  region,  home  building  is  confessedly  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  howsoever  feasible  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil  and  the  growing  of  certain  crops 
may  be. 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS 


453 


Under  conditions  that  are  very  dry,  it  may  not  be 
possible  to  catch  and  retain  enough  water  from  roofs 
to  supply  even  the  needs  of  the  household.  Especially 
is  it  so  in  the  case  of  the  new  settler,  as  the  shack  which 
he  builds  is  small.  In  choosing  the  site  for  the  same, 
unless  the  presence  of  ground  water  is  assured,  the  pos- 
sibility of  collecting  flood  waters  should  be  kept  in  mind. 


DRY  LAND  MONTANA  FARM  GARDEN. 
Courtesy  Great  Northern  Railway  Co. 

Of  course,  where  the  presence  of  ground  water  is  as- 
sured, the  problem  is  easy. 

For  the  needs  of  a  garden,  water  must  come  from 
a  tank  or  reservoir  of  considerable  .capacity,  or  from 
wells.  The  amount  of  the  supplemental  water  for  the 
garden  of  the  farmer,  when  well  managed,  is  not  very 
large.  Where  the  precipitation^  is  not  less  than  15  inches 
per  year,  it  may  be  dispensed  with  altogether.  With  a 


454  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

less  amount  of  precipitation  some  supplemental  water 
may  be  necessary  in  order  to  insure  growth  in  the  late 
crops  that  it  may  be  desirable  to  grow  in  the  garden.  It 
may  also  be  necessary  to  perfect  growth  in  small  fruits 
in  a  very  dry  time.  Where  a  windmill  is  used  to  raise 
water  for  house  and  stock  uses,  it  may  also  be  made  to 
raise  it  for  some  place  of  storage  when  it  would  other- 
wise be  idle.  Under  very  dry  conditions,  therefore,  it 
may  be  quite  feasible  to  establish  and  maintain  a  farm- 
er's garden. 

In  the  semi-arid  country,  the  farmer  should  not  at- 
tempt to  grow  a  large  orchard,  unless  the  conditions  for 
the  same  are  peculiarly  favorable.  Fruit  for  the  home 
should  in  nearly  all  instances  be  the  limit  of  his  aims. 
A  small  number  of  thrifty  trees  of  each  species  will 
suffice.  With  15  inches  of  rainfall  in  the  year,  or  even 
a  little  less,  additional  water  may  not  be  wanted  for 
the  Avell-managed  orchard.  Should  it  be  called  for,  one 
application  will  usually  suffice,  but  not  under  all  condi- 
tions. The  most  economical  way  of  supplying  water, 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  water  called  for,  is  by  laying 
perforated  pipes  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  and 
not  distant  from  the  tree  rows.  This  method  of  apply- 
ing water  is  most  economical  and  effective  after  the  ex- 
pense has  been  borne  of  supplying  the  pipes,  an  outlay 
that  should  not  be  heavy.  But  to  accomplish  this,  a 
limited  amount  of  reserve  water  is,  of  course,  necessary 
from  some  source. 

The  home  on  the  prairie  cannot  be  complete  without 
the  protection  of  a  windbreak,  and,  if  possible,  of  a  grove 
also.  It  is  quite  possible  to  provide  such  protection 
without  using  any  stored  or  reserve  water  where  the 
rainfall  is  15  inches  on  average  western  soil,  but  to  get 
the  trees  started,  and  even  to  maintain  growth,  where 
the  rainfall  is  much  less,  it  may  be  necessary  to  use 
some  stored  water.  In  any  event,  supplemental  water 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS  455 

judiciously  used  will  greatly  tend  to  hasten  growth  in 
the  shelter  belt. 

Some  live  stock,  as,  for  instance,  a  cow  or  two,  is 
almost  as  indispensable  to  the  dry  farm  as  horses,  and 
water  for  these  is,  of  course,  as  essential  as  for  the  in- 
mates of  the  home.  Live  stock,  and  especially  dairy 
cows,  cannot  be  kept  at  a  profit  when  they  have  to  be 
driven  long  distances  for  water  at  any  season  of  the 
year.  A  reserve  supply  from  some  source  is  imperative. 
It  will  be  very  evident  from  what  has  been  said  that  it 
is  absolutely  indispensable  that  the  dry  land  farmer  shall 
secure  a  supply  of  reserve  water  for  some,  if  not  all,  of 
the  uses  named.  The  sooner  that  he  can  accomplish 
this,  the  better  will  it  be  for  the  entire  home  and  all 
that  pertains  to  it.  The  contrast  between  a  home  thus 
equipped  and  one  that  is  not  is  very  great. 

Applying  reserve  water  to  the  soil. — Reserve  water, 
if  used  on  the  dry  farm,  must,  as  a  rule,  be  applied  with 
much  carefulness  and  judgment  to  the  growing  of  any 
kind  of  crop,  because  of  the  limited  supply  of  the  same. 
The  irrigator  whose  ditches  carry  more  water  than 
he  can  use  can  afford  to  be  prodigal  in  the  use  of  water. 
He  may  use  it  on  all  kinds  of  crops.  It  is  very  different 
with  the  dry  land  farmer.  The  instances  are  few  in 
which  he  should  attempt  to  apply  such  water  on  ordi- 
nary field  crops.  The  application  will  rather  be  confined 
to  the  orchard  and  the  garden,  more  especially  if  the 
water  is  raised  by  pumping,  which  is  usually  much  more 
expensive  than  gravity  water. 

When  reserve  water  is  used  on  the  dry  farm,  it 
should  be  so  used,  as  a  rule,  to  save  crops,  the  growth  of 
which  has  become  well  advanced  toward  completion,  and 
yet  without  the  aid  of  applied  water  the  crop  would  not 
reach  full  fruition.  It  is  surprising  how  small  an  ap- 
plication of  such  water  may  suffice  to  save  a  crop. 
Those  who  grow  crops  by  irrigation  are  slow  to  learn 


456  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

the  lesson  that  the  proportional  increase  in  the  produc- 
tion is  by  no  means  proportional  to  increase  in  the 
amount  of  the  water  applied. 

Experiments  conducted  in  Utah  gave  results  as  fol- 
lows: The  first  5  inches  of  water  applied  gave  40 
bushels  of  winter  wheat  per  acre.  The  application  of 
ten  times  the  amount  increased  the  yield  only  by  one- 
half,  that  is,  it  gave  but  60  bushels  per  acre.  The  ap- 
plication of  50  inches  would  also  be  more  or  less  harmful 
to  the  land,  because  of  the  excess  of  the  application. 
Similar  results  were  also  obtained  from  the  growing 
of  other  crops. 

Remarkable  results  are  frequently  obtained  from 
the  use  of  very  small  quantities  of  water.  Widtsoe  cites 
an  instance  wherein  a  12-foot  geared  windmill  lifted 
water  from  a  certain  well  in  Arizona  into  a  tank  having 
a  capacity  of  5,000  gallons.  The  water  was  conveyed 
from  this  tank  through  iron  pipes  which  were  placed 
underneath  the  ground  and  within  a  foot  or  two  of  the 
trees.  The  pipes  beneath  the  soil  were  perforated,  which, 
of  course,  provided  subterranean  irrigation.  The  water 
sustained  87  useful  trees,  nearly  all  of  them  valuable 
fruit-bearing  sorts,  and  32  grape  vines,  with  certain  small 
bushes  in  addition.  Many  other  instances  may  be  given 
of  remarkable  results  following  the  application  of  small 
quantities  of  water. 

The  dry  land  farmer  should  not  be  hasty  in  the  con- 
clusion that  because  he  is  a  dry  land  farmer  he  does  not 
need  to  seek  any  aid  from  stored  water.  Water  is  the 
most  precious  heritage  of  the  farmer  in  the  semi-arid 
country.  Let  him  use  it,  therefore,  to  the  greatest  ex- 
tent practicable  in  furnishing  him  with  the  proper  sur- 
roundings of  a  home.  To  defer  doing  so  until  many 
years  have  come  and  gone  would  certainly  be  a  mistake. 

Dry  farming  and  very  light  rainfall. — It  is  simply 
surprising  what  may  be  accomplished  in  some  instances 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  IN  DRY  AREAS  457 

in  growing  crops  under  a  very  light  precipitation. 
Illustrations  will  be  given  from  results  obtained  in  Sas- 
katchewan, Canada,  in  Utah,  and  in  Montana. 

,  From  1891  to  1909  the  rainfall  at  Indian  Head, 
Sask.,  Can.,  averaged  12.88  inches.  The  winter  precipi- 
tation is  not  included,  but  if  this  were  added  it  would 
bring  the  annual  precipitation  up  to  approximately  15 
inches.  The  average  yield  of  the  spring  wheat  obtained 
from  summer-fallowed  land  was  32.4  bushels.  In  1904 
the  rainfall  was  3.9  inches.  The  snowfall  reduced  to 
water  would  probably  add  about  one  inch  in  the  pre- 
cipitation. It  would  then  be  approximately  5  inches  for 
the  year.  The  wheat  crop  that  year  was  17  bushels 
from  summer-fallowed  land.  The  average  given  above 
was,  of  course,  much  higher  than  the  average  obtained 
by  the  farmers  in  the  neighborhood.  The  yields  cited 
were  grown  at  the  Government  Experiment  farm, 
which  is  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Angus  Mackay, 
one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  careful  experimenters  in 
all  the  west.  But  they  show  what  can  be  done  where 
the  average  rainfall  is  very  limited. 

Widtsoe  states  that  winter  wheat  crops  grown  on 
summer-fallow  by  the  Hon.  J.  G.  M.  Barnes,  of  Kays- 
ville,  Utah,  averaged  25.5  bushels  per  acre.  The  farm, 
embracing  90  acres,  is  located  15  miles  north  of  Salt 
Lake  City.  The  period  covered  is  19  years  and  begins 
with  1887.  The  average  annual  precipitation  was  14.82 
inches,  the  larger  portion  coming  in  the  winter  and  quite 
early  spring. 

The  drought  in  Utah  was  most  intense  and  pro- 
longed in  1910.  In  many  parts  of  the  state,  more  espe- 
cially to  the  southward,  no  rain  fell  from  the  close  of 
winter  until  the  harvest  had  been  reaped.  The  harvest 
reports  indicated  that  from  80  to  90  per  cent,  of  a  crop 
had  been  reaped. 


45S  DRY  LAND  FARMING 

Twenty-five  acres  of  grain  were  grown  at  Chester, 
Mont.,  in  the  summer  of  1910.  The  grains  comprised 
durum  wheat,  speltz,  oats,  spring  rye,  white  hulless  and 
other  barley  and  Canadian  field  peas. 

They  were  grown  on  the  Experiment  farm  main- 
tained by  the  Great  Northern  railroad.  The  land  had 
been  summer-fallowed  the  previous  year.  The  light 
winter  snowfall  at  Chester  was  carried  away  in  Feb- 
ruary, and  much  of  it  went  into  the  streams.  The  month 
of  March  was  abnormally  warm  and  it  was  rainless;  no 
rain  fell  in  April  nor  until  about  May  10.  As  the  land 
was  not  directly  under  the  control  of  the  Great  North- 
ern road  earlier,  no  harrowing  was  done  until  about 
April  first.  By  that  time  the  moisture  had  so  far  left 
the  soil  that  the  grain  did  not  germinate  until  rain  fell 
in  May,  as  stated.  The  total  precipitation  at  Chester 
from  September  1,  1909,  -to  September  1,  1910,  was  less 
than  7  inches.  The  rainfall  during  the  entire  growing 
period  was  about  3^  inches.  The  intensity  of  the 
drought  may  be  understood  from  the  statement  that, 
save  in  some  of  the  lower  depressions,  the  grass  never 
became  green  from  the  opening  of  spring  until  the  snow 
fell,  about  the  middle  of  the  following  November.  The 
yields  of  the  various  grains  ran  from  10  to  18  bushels 
per  acre.  On  the  Great  Northern  demonstration  farm 
at  Cut  Bank,  Mont.,  the '  conditions  being  very  similar 
as  to  weather,  20  bushels  of  durum  wheat  were  reaped 
per  acre,  and  30  bushels  of  Swedish  Select  oats. 


INDEX 


Page 
A 

Africa,  Dry  Farming  in 32 

Alfalfa,  Growing 310 

America,  Dry  Farming  in 47 

Antiquity  of  Dry  Farming 24 

Arid    and    Semi-arid    America, 

Divisions  of 28 

Aridity  affected  by  precipitation  14 

Artichokes,  Growing 307 

Asia,  Dry  Farming  in 32 

Autumn  grain,  Time  to  sow. ...  179 

B 

Barley,  Growing 250 

Beef  cattle  on  Dry  Farm 432 

Broadcasting,  Disadvantages  of  175 
Brome  Grass,  Growing 346 


Cereal  crops 

Barley 

Flax 

Oats 

Peas 

Rye 

Speltz 

Wheat 

Climates  classified 

Arid.. 

Humid 

Semi-arid 

Sub-humid 

Clovers,  Growing 

Conservation  of  moisture 

Corn,  Growing 

Cowpeas,  Growing 

Crops,  Methods  of  growing. .  .  . 

Crops,  Special 

Cultivators  besides  the  disc. . . 


.  193 
.  197 
.  195 
.  198 
.  195 
.  196 
.  198 
.  194 
.  10 
.  10 
.  13 
.  12 
.  13 
.  322 
.  449 
.  269 
.  333 
8 
5 
.  149 


Dairy  cattle  on  the  Dry  Farm..  431 

Disc  and  its  use 145 

Drill  sowing,  Advantages  from. .  173 

Dust  mulch,  Maintaining 165 

E 

Europe,  Dry  Farming  in 31 

F 

Fertility 406-410 

Increase  of 410 

Loss  of 406 

Sources  of 408 

Field  Beans,  Growing 296 

Field  Roots,  Growing 299 

Flax.  Growing 244 

Fodder  crops 199 

Fruits  suitable  for  Dry  Farm..  372 

Fruits  and  Vegetables 208 

Future  of  Dry  Farming 40 


H 

Harrows  and  their  uses 

Hay  crops 

Hay  from  grains 

Hay  from  millets 

History  of  Dry  Farming.  .  .  . 
Horses  on  the  Dry  Farm...  . 
Humus 

Benefits  from 

Increase  of 

Sources  of 

Supply  of 


Page 


. . .  154 
. . .  202 
. . .  349 
. . .  353 
.  ..  26 
. . .  430 
. ..  413 
. . .  417 
. . .  420 
. ..  415 
.  413 


I 

Ideas,  Dominant,  in  Dry  Farm- 
ing       17 

M 

Moisture  in  soils — 

Function  of  water 84 

Loss  of,  by  evaporation 87 

by  transpiration. ...  92 

Importance  of 96 

Utilization  of ! 99 

Water  in  semi-arid  soils. . .  80 


N 
Nurse  crops  and  sowing 

O 

Oats,  Growing 

Other  places,  Dry  Farming  in 

Australia 

Canada 

Central  America 

Mexico 


186 


254 
33 
34 
33 
34 
34 
South  America 34 


Pasture  crops  from  grain 359 

Pasture  crops  from  grass 355 

Peas,  Growing 262 

Flankers  and  their  uses 160 

Plant  growth 103 

Features  peculiar  to 103 

Functions  of  water  in  soil  in  106 

Reducing  loss  of  water  in. .  .  107 

Root  development  in 112 

Seasonal  use  of  moisture  in..  110 

Superior  quality  of 114 

Volunteering  in  grain 117 

Weeds 115 

Planting  and  caring  for 376 

Fruits 379 

Trees 376 

Plowing , 121 

Depth  of 128 

Frequency  of 139 

Kind  of  implement  for 131 

Object  sought  in 121 


1(50 


DRY  LAND  FARMING 


Page 

Plowing — Continued 

Power  to  use  in 134 

Subsoil 137 

Time  for '.  .  .    125 

Poultry  on  Dry  Farm 437 

Potatoes,  Growing 291 

Precipitation,  Annual,  In: 

Alberta  and  Saskatchewan..      52 

Arizona 55 

California 55 

Colorado 54 

Idaho 55 

Kansas 53 

Montana 55 

Nebraska 53 

Nevada 55 

New  Mexico 54 

North  Dakota 53 

Oklahoma 53 

Oregon 55 

South  Dakota 53 

Texas 54 

Utah 55 

Washington 55 

Wyoming 54 

Precipitation,  Seasons  of...  ....      57 

Production  as  an  index  of  fertility    76 

Grasses 77 

Greasewood 77 

.Sage  brush 76 

Sparse  vegetation.. 76 

Promoters  of  Dry  Farming 35 


Rollers  and  their  uses 158 

Roots  and  tubers 205 

Rotation 383-401 

Benefits  from 388 

Cultivated  crops  and  grains  395 
Fallow  and  cultivated  crops  397 

Fallow  and  grain 392 

Grass  crops 399 

Reasons  for 383 

Rye,  winter  and  spring 236 


Sainfoin,  Growing 327 

Seed,  Amount  to  sow  of 177 


Page 

Seed  drills  and  their  uses 163 

Sheep  on  the  Dry  Farm 434 

Soils,  Meaning,  extent,  value  of  61-76 

Alkali 73 

Clay  Loam 67 


Gumbo 

Sandy  Loam 

Silt 

Volcanic  Ash 

Western 

Speltz,  Growing 

Spring  grain,  Time  to  sow 

Sorghums,  Growing 

Stocking  the  Dry  Farm 

Subsoil  and  its  use 

Summer-fallow 


72 
68 
69 
71 
61 
260 
181 
285 
428 
64 
168 

Sweet  clover,  Growing 335 

Swine  on  the  Dry  Farm 436 


Timothy,  Growing  ............    340 

Trees  suitable  for  the  Dry  Farm  370 
Trees  and  windbreaks  .........    210 

Tubers  and  roots  ..............    205 


U 


28 


United  States,  Dry  Farming  in 
Colorado    and    Rio    Grande 

basins  ..................  30 

Columbia  basin  ............  30 

Great  Basin  country  ........  29 

Great  Plains  area  ..........  29 

Mountain  states  ...........  30 


Vegetables  and  fruits. . .  . 
Vetches,  Growing 


208 
330 


W 


Water 442-456 

Conservation  of 449 

Methods  of  raising 450 

Scarcity  of 442 

Sources  of 446 

Western  rye  grass,  Growing. .  .  .  343 

Wheat,  Winter  and  Spring 214 

Windbreaks  arid  trees 210 


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/IAR  20  1973 


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